Rounds of Hypocrisy
by JAxLYxTH
Summary: Revamped. Ginny's big change gets her a spot in auror training, with Draco as her teacher. See what happens when Ginny keeps a big secret from him. Eventual D/G pairing.
1. Chapter 1

Welcome to the revamped version of this story. If you've read it before, I don't really recommend reading it again, because all I've done is put in more detail. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: All characters are property of J.K. Rowling. Except Mabel.

* * *

Ginny Weasley, aged 18, nervously and quietly walked the long and gothic-looking halls of the ministry of magic with her aging father beside her. "This way, Ginny," he ushered her with a hand on her shoulder to the minister's office. "Don't worry; I'm sure everything will turn out fine." Ginny could tell that her father was just as nervous about this semi-interview as she was. He was constantly talking, pointing out various irrelevant things about the ministry's high-arced ceiling, its statues, its people, even. The halls were the same that Ginny had seen just a year ago. There were people rushing in and out of rooms, carrying boxes, or stacks of paper, even weird muggle objects which were tainted with magic.

They finally reached the minister's office, where a large oak door with intricate carvings impeded their way. Mr. Weasley knocked twice, and then opened the wooden door as he heard a light, "Come in."

"Just wait out here until I call you," he whispered to Ginny, who nodded, while fidgeting with her hands. She stood leaning against the wall, quietly listening to the conversation between her father and the minister, but could only hear small phrases coming from her father, who's voice was slightly higher pitched due to his excitement and earnestness. "…remarkable change," and "really wants this," were words that made her smile, as she knew exactly what they meant. She had been waiting for this opportunity to prove herself for what seemed like ages.

A few more excruciating minutes went by, with Ginny pacing in the small hall in front of the ministers door. At last, she heard her father call her name. She took a deep breath, and opened the door. Her eyes settled on a Minister Scrimgeour, who was indeed staring at her with wide eyes.

"Certainly this is not the same Ginny Weasley I remember from just a year ago!" He stood up and walked in a circle around her which made her blush. "Wonderful! I can tell you really wanted this. It must have been hell, what you went through to get where you are now. You'll definitely be put into the Auror training class, just as soon as you've filled out the required paperwork. The class starts the day after tomorrow, so I hope you're ready! Congratulations!"

Ginny's eyes widened as a broad smile broke out on her glossed lips. "Thank you so much, sir," she said as she shook his hand.

"Thank you, Ginny."

"Alright, dear, let's be off, now." Her father led her out again through the long corridors of the ministry and to the main exit. "I told you that muggle camp would pay off. Now, apparate home and tell your mum. Tell her I'll be there within the hour," he said to her as he reached forward to grasp her in a hug.

--

Ginny had been away from her family for seven months. She had finished her seventh year early, with permission granted by Headmistress McGonagall, and packed her bags for camp Whaka, a muggle renowned camp where overweight teens went to get in shape. Ginny's last visit to the minister had proven fruitless; he had told her that the type of work she wanted to do would not bode well with her weight. So, after doing lots of research, she and her parent's decided that "fat camp" would be the best decision. It was a vast decision, but Ginny had her reasons for wanting to be an Auror. After her older brother Charlie died in her fifth year as a result of a Death Eater attack, she felt the need to avenge his death, and that being an Auror was the only way to do so. A guilty conscience was mostly to blame for her need to avenge him; she told her self over and over again that his death wouldn't have happened if she hadn't begged him relentlessly to take a break from the rough-and-tough of the dragons and come home to visit her.

One night, as a result of the guilt and depression she felt from Charlie's death, she had a nightmare full of Death Eaters and Voldemort, taunting her and the rest of her family. She woke suddenly in the middle of her dorm room with clammy hands and a pale face. Her attempts to fall back asleep were futile and she quietly snuck out into the corridor of the seventh floor and made her way downstairs to the kitchen to have a chat with Dobby.

"Can Dobby get the Miss Weasley anything?" he'd innocently asked when she'd sat down, hoping to cheer her up.

She sighed and looked at him for a moment before saying, "Yeah, maybe some ice cream."

In that year, starting with that night, Ginny turned to food when she had nightmares to make her feel better, even just when she was feeling bitter, eventually gaining thirty pounds that year, and fifty in her sixth year. She knew she was destroying her body, but she hadn't cared.

--

"MUM!" Ginny screamed after having apparated into the living room, feeling calm and at home once again. Home coming the day hadn't been so fun, eventful, or fulfilling, as she'd arrived late, and was a little nostalgic about her friends at camp. After all, she'd been there for several months and had developed a special bond with the girls in her cabin. She walked into the kitchen hearing her mother call "in here," and saw the old red-head cooking dinner.

"The minister accepted me!" Ginny said, happily. Mrs. Weasley squealed, turned away from her preparations and threw her arms around Ginny - where her hands were once again able to clasp behind her daughters back. Both women silently praised the change.

Shaking off the tears she felt building up, Mrs. Weasley backed away and put on her usual happy face. "Oh I'm so glad! I'm so proud of you! This is wonderful! Sit down, I'll make us some tea while you tell me about camp," she said as she busied herself with pots and pans.

"What was it like being the only witch there?"

"It was painful. I missed being able to do magic. But I made some great friends. I kind of miss them... I mean we were there for 7 months together - a lot longer than any of the other kids who didn't come until the end of May and beginning of June. One was named Tally, and the other was named Jade. I wish you could have met them. The counselors met with each of us once a week to see how we were doing. They gave us guidelines and we had all these rules, which I'm sure I complained to you about on more than one occasion."

Mrs. Weasley chuckled. "How did they make you lose so much weight?" she asked, setting a cup of tea in front of Ginny.

"Wel, mostly they just kept us active," she said, picking up the cup and sipping from it. "We walked five laps around the track after breakfast, which was dreadful, at least for the first month. Then after we walked, we played volley ball for two hours. After lunch, we did water aerobics for two hours, which I liked. Then, once we changed clothes, we went to the gym for an hour and a half, and had dinner, and then we were free to do as we pleased. Sometimes instead of volley ball we played dodge ball or kick ball."

"It sounds like your muscles must have been quite sore," Mrs. Weasley commented.

"Well, yes, but It was worth it."

"Everyone is coming to see you tomorrow. They're so excited, especially Ron."

Ginny smiled, "I can't wait! How's the baby? What did they name it?" Ginny asked of Ron and Hermione's newborn, born just a few days before Ginny had left for home.

"They named him Thomas, and he's doing really well. He looks just like all of us, freckles and all."

"That's great. I have a nephew now!" She grinned, then wiggled a little uncomfortably. "I think I'll go and change into something more comfortable. The muggle jeans are nice, but kind of stiff. Dad said he'd be home within the hour."

She walked slowly up the stairs to her room, silently dreading the moment she would open her closet door. She hoped that by now, her old clothes would fit her, but wasn't all too sure that they would.

Discarding her muggle clothes, she reached into her dresser and pulled out her favorite corduroys. She slid them up – easily – and smiled when they buttoned without struggle. Looking down, though, she noticed the leg of the trousers was a little short. It looked as if she'd be wearing muggle clothing to her first day of training.

--

A quaint dinner passed quickly, with small talk of things that had changed since Ginny had been away. Once the dishes had been scourged clean, and everything else put back in its proper place, Ginny went to her room and pulled out the "CD player" that her muggle friend Jade had given to her.

"I just got a new one with a radio, so you can have this one," she'd said, handing her the electronic device, along with some CDs. For a while, Ginny had just looked at it like it was the strangest thing she'd ever seen.

"How do you work it?" she'd asked sheepishly.

"You've never had a CD player?"

Ginny remembered shaking her head, and hoping the girl wouldn't ask questions. Jade's curious stare had made her feel antsy, but thankfully the girl just shook her head and explained how the play worked.

Lying down on the bed in her room, which had been sorely missed while she was at camp, she put on her favorite song, "Moonlight Sonata," by Ludwig van Beethoven. Jade had said she played the piano, and could play all the songs on the disk.

With every changing note and chord in the emotional sonata, Ginny thought about what tomorrow would bring. Her friends and family, she thought, would not recognize her. Since she'd last seen them, in December, her hair had grown a good 5 or 6 inches longer than it had ever been, not to mention all the weight she'd lost.

--

"Ginny! Get up!" Her eyes opened to a familiar face that was framed by long red hair, and adorned by brown eyes. "Bill!" she screamed, and sat upright to give him a hug.

A happy Bill laughed, saying, "Stand up! Let me see how you look."

Ginny smiled and made to get up but quickly remembered, "Bill, I've got my PJ's on! Get out!"

The older man laughed once again and walked out shaking his head. With a grin on her face, Ginny dressed quickly into jeans and a blue t-shirt. She hoped there would be a good reaction from the people she cared about most. Excited for the day, she ran down the stairs two at a time, almost breaking her neck when she tripped over her own foot, and jumped the last three stairs down to the landing. She saw Bill sitting at the table looking handsome in his Gringott's uniform, probably having had to go into work for a couple hours before coming to see her. He smiled, his eyes wide as he stood up to circle around her, much like the minister had done just the day before.

"Ginny, you look amazing!"

She smiled and nodded, not wanting to seem like she was getting a big ego over all of this. Inside, she was thrilled, she knew she looked great and was proud of the work she'd done to get to this place. Bill hugged her, and whispered in her ear, "Charlie would be proud." Of all her brothers, Bill was the one that had recognized Ginny's depression as having to do with Charlie, and he'd confronted her that summer after her fifth year. It'd taken a lot to get Ginny to confess her ambitions, and her reason for feeling so much guilt. In the end, he was the one who had given her the most encouragement to follow her dreams.

Ginny smiled at him as she pulled away and mouthed, "Thanks."

"When is everyone getting here?" Ginny asked her mother, who was slaving away once again over breakfast.

"Harry should be here within the hour, and Ron and Hermione are coming at noon," replied Mrs. Weasley not turning her back from the food.

"What of Fred and George?"

"They're coming at one," replied Mr. Weasley who was just coming down the stairs. Ginny nodded and stifled a yawn as she sat down at the small wooden table with Bill.

"I heard you got the job," Bill half-inquired.

Ginny smiled, "Yep! As soon as the minister saw me, he said I could start in the next class."

"Here, breakfast," said Mrs. Weasley as she handed her two children a plate of bacon, eggs, and a biscuit.

"Thanks mum."

"Well, that's great. I wonder who you'll get paired with for training," Bill wondered aloud.

"Me, too. Hopefully Ron or Harry. I mean, I'm already nervous as it is."

Bill nodded and changed the subject. "How 'bout a game of Quidditch when everyone arrives?"

"Sure! I need to try out my broom again, I haven't flown since before I left Hogwarts," she said, feeling as if that was the part about being in the magical world that she'd missed the most.

A POPwas heard in the foyer, and then a friendly "hello" as a scruffy, yet clean-cut attractive Harry walked in, smiling. Everyone was smiling today, Ginny thought to her self, happy that her success was bringing at least some happiness to her family. Harry's eyes instantly laid upon Ginny and his smile turned to a grin as he opened his arms, inviting her to hug him. She stood, and hugged him, breathing in the scent of her missed friend. Once they parted, Harry laughed to himself, looking her over.

"What are you laughing at, you prat?" Ginny asked.

"It's just that you look like one of those models I saw yesterday at the muggle shopping mall. You look so good!"

Ginny smiled and thanked him as they both took seats at the table.

"Harry dear, are you hungry?" Mrs. Weasley asked, already preparing him a plate.

"I'm alright, I ate before I left. Thanks, though."

"Oh, non-sense!" she replied and set the plate in front of him. He laughed, along with Ginny and Bill.

"Hello, Bill," he said, "How are things going with work?"

"Oh, you know, the usual, Harry. The Goblins are just as cranky as ever."

Smirking, Harry turned his attention back to Ginny, who was tugging at his arm.

"What were you doing at a muggle shopping mall in the first place?" Ginny asked.

"My girlfriend says they have the best fashion. She hates witch and wizard fashion," he explained, and smiled.

"Oh, I see! What's her name? I didn't hear about this!"

"Her name is Mabel, she went to Hogwarts, but she was two years ahead of me, in Ravenclaw. I met her last year when I began my Auror training."

"That's cute."

Harry smiled, "So how have you been? Did you get the Auror job?" he asked.

Ginny nodded, still chewing a mouthful of food. "Yeah, says the minister accepted her right away!" Bill commented.

"Maybe you'll get paired with me or Ron for training," said Harry, hoping to quell some of the nervous he was sure she felt. He was just as nervous when he'd first began.

--

An hour of idle chit-chat and a game of chess between Harry and Bill passed, and Ron and Hermione arrived with their small bundle of joy, Thomas. Ginny gushed over her new nephew, cooing over his "cute little freckles!", while Ron and Hermione gushed over her. When Fred and George arrived, they made harmless jokes about Ginny's weight loss.

A Quidditch game ensued, with Mr. Weasley participating, albeit clumsily. Harry, still the great seeker he was in his Hogwarts years, caught the small ball that they had charmed to fly in just under five minutes, so they played another game until dinner.

"Alright, this time, Harry, just pretend like the snitch is too fast for you. You know, take your time catching it, so the rest of us can enjoy a little flying time," George teased.

"Who says Harry will catch it anyway?" Bill asked playfully, since he was the Seeker of Ginny's team.

Even though Mr. Weasley wasn't an excellent flyer, his team still won after Harry caught the snitch, much to Bill's chagrin.

"Good game, guys," Ginny said as they all entered the house, ready for the feast Mrs. Weasley had prepared.

"It's great to have everyone here after all this time. I've been cooking meals for only two people for so long!" said Mrs. Weasley over dinner. Everyone laughed or smiled at her comment.

"Well, the food is great, mum. Fleur will be sorry she missed out," Bill said, explaining her absence from the evening's events. Stomachs were fattened, and hearts warmed as dinner stretched on. Especially for Ginny, the evening was a terrific one.

As the night settled down, and everyone returned to their homes, Ron and Hermione being the first to leave once Thomas started fussing, Ginny lay in her bed and couldn't wait for the next day. She'd finally be able to start Auror training; finally be able to fulfill her goals.


	2. Chapter 2

"Please state your name and purpose," came the smooth voice of a woman in the phone booth outside the ministry. An excited and alone Ginny began to speak to the voice, a little uncertain as to whether she was doing it right. Her father, whom she begged to come didn't have to be into work until much later, so she was on her own to make and learn from her mistakes.

"Ginny Weasley; here for Auror training."

"Thank you," the voice said, and Ginny waited, listening to the noises coming from the phone. Within a matter of seconds, a name tag appeared in the slot just below the receiver, and she was being taken down into the depths of the ministry. Once the booth stopped moving, she stepped out and began walking though the labyrinthine halls until she found a sign that said 'Auror Training' with an arrow pointing left. The excitement in the pit of Ginny's stomach seemed to be mounting with every turn or step she took. Down the hall a little way, there was a large door and another sign with the same words. Taking a big breath and putting on a smile, she opened it to see a few people sitting all around the room, with close the same expression as she was wearing.

She made to sit, too, but it seem that she had only made it into class at exactly the right time because right as she began to sit down, a group of important looking people came in. She and everyone else stood up, looking around for their friends and waiting for instructions.

"Good morning," said Kingsley Shacklebolt, in his deep and commanding voice. He seemed to be the leader of these people. Ginny looked at them, and recognized Seamus, Hermione, and Luna, among a few other people she was not friends with. "Welcome to your first day of Auror training. Today, you'll be assigned a partner. This partner is your life support; they are the air you breathe, the words you speak, and therefore you must learn to trust them. You'll be put through many tests to find out your skill levels. Be prepared. As the late Alastor Moody would say, 'constant vigilance!' Now, I'll go around the room. As I point to you, I'll say a name. That person will raise their hand. This is your partner." Kingsley started around the room with his clipboard of names.

"Ackerly, Bolton, Bones, Finnigan, Fussel, Granger, Lovegood."

Alphabetical order, she thought to herself, becoming a little worried at who her partner could be. She was next to be assigned. Kingsley pointed to her, not looking up from his list of names.

"Malfoy," he said and moved on.

Ginny gasped slightly, and her mouth fell open while the worry lines in her face became pronounced. Kinglsley surely hadn't recognized her, for if he had, he wouldn't have let that name come out of his mouth, especially when talking to her, a Weasley. He would not have put her with Malfoy, of all people. She'd have to explain the situation to Kingsley. Until the time that he'd be available, she would just have to muck it up. She straightened up and defiantly walked toward Malfoy and stood next to him. She refused to look at him, even when he said hello. Why in the world would anyone - ANYONE - higher a Malfoy? Especially the ministry! Not after everything... Ginny kept an eye on Kingsley, hoping to get in a quick word with him about the situation. She vaguely wondered why Ron and Harry were not there.

Malfoy, bewildered at his partners refusal to acknowledge him bent his head in front of her face. "Hellooo?"

Ginny who had grudgingly decided to speak to him, pretended to come out of a day dream, and finally gave a curt nod, and said, "Hi." She then turned her attention back to Kingsley, raising on her tip toes to see over the heads of her classmates.

Malfoy sighed, and Ginny grinned to herself, knowing that she, for the first time, was annoying him on purpose. Before, while at Hogwarts, just her presence seemed to annoy him, and well, she couldn't help that. He, too, obviously didn't recognize her, which was just as well. If she had her way, he wouldn't have the chance to recognize her.

"I'm Draco," he said, reaching a hand to her. Ginny, trying to come off as skittish, as a freak, did not return the gesture, but, instead, backed away from his hand, her eyes opened wide in terror, as if she was afraid of germs. The acting on her part seemed to work, as the muscles around Draco's mouth fell, and he pulled his hand away.

"Right," he said. "What's your name?"

"Uh... Ginevra," she whispered, still waiting for Kinglsey to be not busy. Draco looked around to see what it was Ginny had her eye on.

"Is there something you need?" he asked, but she still did not answer. His face contorted as he looked at her for a moment.

"Um... you look kind of familiar... Do I—"

"Hmm," was Ginny's response.

"Um, okay, Ginevra, come over—" Malfoy was cut off by Ginny waving her hand in the air. He looked around; once again trying to find the person she was waving to, and saw the muscular Kinglsey Shaklebolt lurking toward him.

"Can I help you?" he asked, with a stern look on his face. Ginny nodded emphatically.

"Yes, but, please, could I speak with you in private? Please?" Ginny begged. Kingsley, a little confused, nodded and led her to a discreet corner. For a fleeting moment, she felt claustrophobic in his wake, but that went away quickly once Kingsley stood beside her and not in front of her. She took a deep breath.

"Kingsley, it's me, Ginny Weasley!"

His brows furrowed and he looked unbelievingly at her, and gasped. "So it is! You look very different."

"Yes, I... thanks. Look, I don't know if putting me with Malfoy was the right choice, I—"

"Sorry Ginny, partners are final. It's kind of like fate. You chose to stand where you did this morning. I can't change the rules for you, else I'd have to change them for everyone else," he said, with a helpless look on his face.

"But—"

"No. One thing about being an Auror, Ginny: you have to learn to trust," he said, and walked away. Ginny gave an exasperated sigh as she watched him walk away. What would she do now? Once Draco found out about her, she'd be subject to countless taunts and perhapds even hexes or jinxes. She slumped her shoulders and trudged over to and impatient looking Malfoy.

"This isn't exactly how I imagined the first day of training. Mind explaining to me what that was all about?" he asked, his arms crossed over his chest, an unpleasant look upon his lips.

"Yes, I do."

Malfoy, seemingly pissed off at her answer huffed and without warning said, "Fine. Then let's begin your tests, the first is to test your reflexes. Levicorpus!" He flung the curse at Ginny, who was caught unawares, and was suddenly hanging upside down by one leg.

Her long hair hanging down at the force of gravity, and a wild look in her eyes, she frantically screamed at the top of her lungs, yelling curses at Draco. "PUT ME DOWN! PUT ME DOWN YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Other couples were staring, wondering why Ginny had lost her cool. After all, it was only a test. She'd be subjected to many more before the day was over. She'd nearly started to cry when Draco saw how scared she really was. He lifted the curse, and she dropped unceremoniously to the carpeted floor. She raised herself up, on her arms, looking like a prowling lion, a vicious look clouding her face.

"You are one sick—"

"What? What am I? Say it!" Draco yelled. He felt compelled to be hard on her, even though she was near an emotional break down. After all, it was what any attacker might do. They would show no mercy.

"Bastard," she said, and got up from the floor, storming away.

Draco, stood for a moment, looking around at all the other people staring at him with a slightly embarrassed look. Not having expected that reaction from his partner, he quickly took off after her. "Wait!" he yelled, "Ginevra, WAIT!" She was a fast runner, he realized as he watched her back, with her red hair flying out behind her, but he knew he was faster. He ran as hard as he could feeling the excitement of the chase build up in his muscles, but Ginny suddenly stopped, and he ran into her, knocking her down. He stumbled over her body and landed a few feet away.

"Sorry!" he said. He stood of fast and reached out a hand to help her up. She did not take the hand, just as she had not earlier. "Ginevra, I'm sorry for what I did. I... I only did it for fun. I didn't know there would be such… repercussions."

Ginny looked away, embarrassed. Draco reached out his hand again.

"Come on, we really have to get started on these tests," he said. She took the hand and he helped her up and then began walking away back to their original spot. Some people looked at them as they entered, causing themselves to be hexed, and a chorus of "Be Prepared!'s" to go through the room from the trainers. "In all fairness, Kingsley did tell everyone to be prepared," he said, looking at her with raised eyebrows. "So, again, reflex test." Draco flicked his wand, using a non-verbal hex, but this time, Ginny was ready and shouted, "Protego!" effectively blocking the curse.

"Good," Draco complimented. "Now, give me a Patronus."

Ginny felt very prepared for that task, since she'd been a member of the D.A. in her fourth year. She remembered practicing for hours until she got it right everytime. Hers was a dragon. Concentrating on her last day of camp when she heard that she'd reached her goal weight, she lifted her wand and gave the incantation. "Expecto Patronum!"

And, as expected, a bright and colorful dragon erupted from her wand, ready to protect her. She broke the spell and smiled smugly.

Draco's eyebrow was raised. "Interesting, Ginevra; mine is a dragon, too."

Ginny shrugged, not impressed and they continued their tests until lunch break, when Ginny sought out Hermione.

"I can't believe he's my partner," she said sitting down at the table with Hermione. "He doesn't even know it's me," Ginny confided.

"Didn't you tell him your name?" Hermione asked, sticking food in her mouth.

"I told him it was Ginevra, but I didn't mention my last name," she explained resting her chin in the palm of her hand.

"Well, you should probably tell him sooner than later, because there's that whole trust issue. It really gets in the way," Hermione advised.

"And you suppose I'm going to trust him after all he's done?" Ginny asked skeptically.

"The first thing he did to me today was terrorize me!"

"Ginny, he's changed, and so have you. You have both got to move away from the past so that nothing stands in the way of your work. If you want this, you can't let the past blur your vision of the future."

"I having the feeling he's not the accepting type. If I told him, he'd probably go right back to ridiculing me, or request not to be my partner."

Hermione made to contradict her, but instead, closed her mouth, as she felt, rather than heard the empty chair at their table scrape across the floor as the person of discussion sat down with a small grin on his face.

"I see you've made friends already with this one," Draco said, inclining his head to Hermione. "Watch out, though, she'll nag you to death if you ever get a mission with her. 'No don't do that! You could get in a lot of trouble!'" Draco mimicked her in a bad falsetto.

"I'll have you know that I've been friends with Hermione for quite a bit longer than you have, so don't pick on her, or I'll hex you," Ginny said, pointing a finger at him, then giving Hermione an accusing stare, as if to say, 'I told you he hasn't changed!'

Draco raised his arms as if defending himself from an attack. "Sorry, I didn't know. How do you know each other?"

"She went to Hogwarts, Malfoy," Hermione stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Really? That must be why I remember you. What house were you in?"

"Gryffindor," Ginny said and stood up.

"Oh. Hey! Where are you going?"

"It's time to get back to work," she said, Scourgifying her plate and fork, and stacking it on the already existing pile on the table.

"Bye Hermione," Ginny said, leaving Draco to race after her.

--

"What's your last name?" Draco asked, still wondering from where he knew her.

Ginny hesitated. Last name, think quick. "Boot," she said.

Draco gave a weird look, "The pure-blood Boots?" he asked skeptically.

"No… I'm a muggleborn," she lied quickly feeling herself already sinking into a hole of lies she couldn't get out of very easily.

"Oh."

There was an awkward silence between them in which Ginny looked aimlessly around the room. She thought she might have seen a look of disgust from Draco about having a 'mudblood' for a partner, but she couldn't be sure. Draco broke said silence and spoke, "Okay, well, we're both supposed to fill out a paper, so that we can learn about each other." He conjured up two pieces of parchment and two quills.

"Only you and I can read them, so, you know, don't try to let one of your friends see."

They both sat at a nearby table and began filling out the form. There were the obvious questions, like name, and birthday. The more in-depth questions included 'Where did you grow up?' and 'How many siblings do you have?'

_I really don't have to lie about that_, she thought. Charlie is dead, so instead of 6, I have 5.

Her favorite question was 'What is your favorite childhood memory?' Thinking back into her childhood, she remembered when Charlie had taught her to fly. She became so good at it in such a short amount of time, and finally challenged him to see who was better. She'd won, or at least, she thought she had, unless Charlie had only pretended to be in a foul mood for the rest of the day. Making up a fake name for her brother, she wrote down the memory.

When both were done, they traded off forms and read them silently. Draco's form was not very interesting, as he didn't have any siblings to make memories with, and according the form, all the kids in his primary school hated him. He'd written down that his favorite memory was getting his Hogwarts letter. The only other thing she learned from it was that his favorite color was green, like his house colors at Hogwarts.

"It looks to me like you missed out on a lot," Ginny commented.

"I guess. But it doesn't matter now. Can't change the past, right? Sounds to me like you had a lot of crazy times. How many of your siblings were magical? Besides... Charles, was it?"

"Oh, um, just Charles and I," she said, not having thought about the fact that she'd told him she was muggle-born.

He nodded and checked the clock on the wall and said, "It's time to go home. I'll see you tomorrow, Ginevra." With that, he walked away, seemingly sullen.

Ginny decided not to wait to say goodbye to Hermione. Instead, she Apparated home as soon as she got outside of the Ministry. It was two o'clock when she arrived home, and she felt like having a nap. Her mum wouldn't be home for another hour or two, still running 'errands', and her father would still be at work for a couple of hours. She was glad not to have to recount her day until then.

She climbed up the stairs and opened the door to her bedroom. She slid into her cushioned bed, pulling the heavy duvet up to her chin, and felt herself relax. In minutes, she was asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

A week passed before Ginny's eyes. She was receiving much admonishment from Harry, Ron and Hermione for not telling Draco the truth. She was even reprimanded by her mother after she, Ginny, had told everyone her side of the story at the surprise party that had been thrown for her in honor of her new job. However, the two seemed to be getting along, though there was not much conversation from either side other than pleasantries and of course, orders from Draco.

Today was the start of a new week, and Ginny walked calmly into the usual training room. This time, she was met by couples standing on thick plastic mats with no shoes on. Their fists were held near their faces, except for the times when they threw lightning fast punches at their partner, who wore protection that resembled the red mats they stood on.

Draco arrived at her side soon enough, with no shoes. "We're starting on muggle forms of attack today. Karate, Jiu-Jitsu, that kind of thing Come on," he said. Ginny followed, feeling excited. She'd never done anything like this before, she'd never even heard of karate.

"Okay, shoes off. Stretch out," Draco said, sitting down on the mat to stretch. She watched him, making sure to do as much stretching as he did. For a boy, he was very flexible. He was able to reach his fingers all the way to his toes. He was wearing gray sweat pants that were cut off at the knee, and a plain white t-shirt. She saw that he had rather hairy legs and a fair amount of muscle in his calves. She followed his actions, stretching her legs and arms as far as they could go. She stretched her back both right and left. She could feel her muscles waking up.

Draco stood up, and Ginny followed suit. "Ready?" he asked. Ginny nodded.

"Okay, stand on the mat with your feet about shoulder width apart." Ginny complied.

"Now, your hands belong in a fist, up next to your face." He demonstrated. "This is a basic stance in boxing. The only difference is that they use really big gloves. You want at least one hand up here at all times to protect your face."

Ginny nodded her understanding, although she wasn't paying attention. Before Draco could speak again, she asked, "Why do all those other people have a man in a white suit watching over them? Why don't we have one?" She pointed to other couples, proving her point.

"Their trainers are not certified in martial arts, and therefore need someone to make sure they're doing things right. I, however, am certified," he explained. He reached down and picked up two "mats" that were able to cover his hands when he slid them on. Ginny's mouth formed an "O" as she turned her attention back to her trainer.

"Alright, I want you to punch as hard as you can." Ginny threw a punch at his hand, barely giving it any thought. Draco sighed and dropped his hands.

"Come on! With all that red hair, I _know_ you must have a temper. You have to get fired up! Think about something that makes you really angry. Now give me your best shot," he said, raising his hands back up. Ginny thought he was rather out of character from when she knew him before.

She started thinking of her brother's murder. She didn't know the details, but she figured she didn't need to. She only needed to know he was dead to make her mad. She prepared herself, her face contorting in anger as she thought of Charlie. She threw a punch that knocked him back about a foot.

"Great!" he said, "Now, today, we're just going to go through all the moves, then we'll work on one each day. Tomorrow, we'll work on punches. Let's move on to something else." He took off the hand mats and put them on the floor.

"I want you to try and pin me down," he said, wrapping his arms around her from behind. Ginny felt uncomfortable and started to say something, when Draco said, "This is important, so don't feel uncomfortable. Most likely your attacker will attack you from behind, and you have to know how to pin him down."

Ginny took a breath and nodded.

"Ready? Go!"

Ginny tried to pull his arms so that she could throw him down, but he knocked the back of her knee and she was instantly on the floor with him straddling her hips from behind.

Ginny turned her head to see Draco's face, which had an air of 'I told you so.'

"That was _not_ fair! Get off!

Draco immediately got up and reached down to help her up, afraid of a reaction like the one from the first day.

"An attacker is not going to be fair, Ginevra. We'll work on this again tomorrow if we have time."

Ginny nodded yet again. They went through kicking, jump kicking, and jump spin kicks before Draco released her.

"Work on punching tonight. Practice on your pillow. See you tomorrow."

Ginny said goodbye and turned to leave.

--

"Harder!"

The next day, Ginny threw punches over and over. The force of her punches against the hand mats could be heard from several yards away. She was getting absolutely irate that Draco kept saying "Harder." For Merlin's sake, she was punching as hard as she could!

"Come on! Harder!"

Ginny dropped her fists, her chest heaving, and gave Draco a fierce glare.

"I've _been_ punching harder! I can't possibly _do_ it any harder!" she screamed, seemingly frustrated.

Draco smirked, "Harder, Ginevra!"

Ginny's temper was at an all time high. Draco's last words had put her through the roof. She pulled her arm back to get as much speed as possible and gave him one last punch with all that she had; making his own hand hit his face. She stormed away, not caring if she had hurt him, and knowing it was time for lunch. She could hear Draco laughing as she retreated.

--

"He's the most damn annoying man I've ever met! Why? Why did he have to be my partner?" Ginny cried to Hermione, Ron, and Harry.

"Because I'm damn good," Draco responded, once again taking Ginny by surprise. She stared at him through squinted eyes.

"Rude."

Draco shrugged, sitting down. "Hey Potter, Weasleys," he said, inclining his head toward them.

"Ginevra, look, that last punch was your best, you see, because you finally put your all into it," he explained.

"Yes, but only because you wouldn't shut the hell up!"

"Anyway," Hermione butt in, wishing to stop Ginny's tirade, "Draco, we're going to a muggle club tonight with Harry's girlfriend. Would you like to come?"

Ginny gave Hermione an incredulous look. "You're inviting _him_?" she asked skeptically. Draco, loving to annoy people, grinned and said, "Yes, Hermione, I'd love that, thanks. I need a break after today."

"Great! It's called club Paris, named after a famous prostitute or something, so says Mabel. We're meeting at 8."

--

"That dress looks amazing on you, Ginny!" Hermione commented her.

Ginny had just apparated in after going to a muggle mall on Mabel's suggestion to buy a dress. The dress was white silk with black polka dots and black mesh hanging from the bottom.

"Thanks," she said, blushing, "You don't think it's too fancy, do you?"

"Course not!"

"Did you guys conjure ID's for yourselves?" Mabel asked. Everyone pulled out their ID, and then got into Mabel's car. Ginny sat in the back seat in a bit of amazement at the car.

Once they arrived, they saw that the line to get into Club Paris was extensive. Tons of girls in metallic tube tops and short shorts waited to get into their favorite club.

"All those perverts just want in so they can find someone to take to a private bedroom," Mabel teased, pointing to a group of men who were staring at some of the girls and making obscene gestures behind their backs.

"What!" Ginny and Hermione asked at the same time.

Mabel smirked, "Yes, there are private bedrooms. So be careful whom you dance with, Ginny. They might like to have a go with you."

Ginny's mouth dropped, and subconsciously pulled her dress up.

When they finally reached the door, a big man in sunglasses asked for ID's and passed them through. Once inside, they saw many couples doing some extremely crazy things. They found that Draco was already there, and had saved a table for them.

Once the two couples sat down there was only one place for Ginny to sit. She sighed, rolled her eyes and plopped down into her chair next to Draco. She saw Hermione giggle.

"Hello Ginevra," Draco said, smirking. Ginny looked at him, but did not say anything.

The table ordered drinks and chatted merrily until Mabel heard a song she liked and asked Harry to dance with her.

"How's Thomas, Hermione?"

Hermione smiled, "He's great. We left him with Mrs. Weasley for the night. She was so excited to get to take care of another baby, if only just for a night."

"Dance with me, Hermione," Ron pleaded, seeing how much fun Harry was having with his girlfriend. Hermione looked to Ginny, saying 'I'm sorry,' with her eyes.

"Did you practice?" Draco asked turning toward Ginny.

"Do you really think I had time to practice?" she asked sarcastically, wishing she could not talk about work at this point, and just wanting to relax.

"I guess not," he replied. "So how come your boyfriend didn't join us?"

"You are wrong to assume that I even have one," she said, crossing her arms. "Anyway, I hardly want a boyfriend with me while I'm at a club. Then I could only dance with one person."

"So you're a little promiscuous then?"

Ginny's eyes narrowed. "Absolutely not! I just meant, what happens if my hypothetical boyfriend is a bad dancer?"

"I see your point," Draco replied, taking a sip from his mug.

The two sat in uncomfortable silence for the rest of the upbeat dance song and watched as their friends danced very intimately. Getting bored, Ginny stood up.

"I think I'm gonna go dance. See ya," she said. She looked around for a spot to enter the dance floor and began moving her body to the rhythm. Ginny loved dancing, but before she lost all her weight, she would never have dreamed of dancing in a club in front of everyone. At camp, there had been a dance once a month, where, she was totally comfortable with dancing, because everyone around her was there for the same reason.

A few men rubbed against her in passing. One in particular laid his hand on her waist. She stayed calm, not wanting to cause a fight. Though if his hands went anywhere else, she'd knock him down.

--

"Hey! That guy is a total perv. If he does anything I'll have to hex him," Ron said, feeling protective of his little sister.

Draco gave a funny look. "Why are you so worried?"

"She's my-!" Ron fumbled when he felt Hermione kick his shin. "Um, friend. We're close."

Draco didn't seem to believe Ron, but nodded anyway and added, "Don't worry; if she gets pissed enough she can throw a mean punch."

--

The same man was grinding against Ginny and she could feel him through his pants. She shuddered at the though of this absolute stranger being aroused by her. She felt him grab her hand, trying to pull her out of the crowd.

"Let's go get a room, sugar," he whispered in her ear. "I'll rip that pretty little dress right off of you."

"Um, no, thank you," she said, trying to pull away. The man gripped her wrist harder, still trying to pull her toward the stairs where the private bedrooms were.

Ginny of course pulled with all her might, but that didn't seem to be working.

"You stupid bitch, let's go!" the man said.

Ginny wouldn't tolerate being called a bitch. As soon as he said the words, he regretted them, for Ginny's fist soon connected with his mouth. She felt at least one of his teeth break. He let go of her and she walked away, hearing the man scream, "You fuckin' bitch!"

As Ginny approached the table, she saw her friends clapping. She sat down, and said to Draco, "There, I practiced."

Draco smiled.

"I told you to be careful, didn't I? He wanted to take you to a bedroom, didn't he?" Mabel

asked. Ginny nodded.

"I'm a little frightened to go back out there, but I really want to."

"I'll go with you," Ron offered, kissing Hermione's cheek as he got up. Ginny smiled and grabbed Ron's hand.

"You know, I almost slipped up back there," Ron told her and they danced to a slow song.

"What do you mean?"

"I almost told Malfoy that you were my sister. When are you going to tell the man?"

"I told you that I'm not going to. If I do, it'll ruin the relationship we have and he won't want to train me," Ginny explained.

"Ginny, I doubt that he would just drop your training. He's not like that. He's a grown man now."

"I don't know, Ron."

"Well, figure it out," Ron advised.

"Figure what out?" Draco said, coming up behind Ginny.

"Bloody hell, would you quit that?" she said, having been taken by surprise once again.

"Do you mind if I take over, Ron?"

"Sure," he said, and walked back to the table.

Draco stepped up to Ginny, but she hesitated in holding his hand to dance.

"I won't bite you, Ginevra, I just want to dance," Draco said playfully.

Ginny let her guard down, taking his hand in hers and placing her other on his shoulder.

"Tomorrow we'll practice with attacks from behind," he said, trying to make conversation. Ginny however, didn't like that particular subject of discussion and added,

"Do you mind if we don't talk about work? I just want to relax."

Draco nodded, and looked a little embarrassed. "Sorry."

"You don't have to be," she responded, and paused for a few seconds while thinking. When she spoke again, it was to change the subject.

"Why did all the children in your primary school hate you?"

"Because I was a rich bastard," he replied right away, grinning

"Really!" Ginny said, reprimanding him.

Draco laughed. "Because, I always got to do everything. My father bribed the teacher. 'Let him wipe the chalkboard. Let him be the line leader. I'll give you 50 pounds. He made sure that I was the center of attention."

"He sounds like he just wanted you to be happy," Ginny responded.

"No, he really just wanted everyone to know that I was the boss. Or, better yet, that he was."

"Oh."

"Anyway, he's dead now, thanks to Harry."

"What did you do all day during the weekends? If you didn't have any siblings? You must have gotten incredibly bored," Ginny asked curiously.

"My father taught me how to fight, muggle style. Which is why I am certified," he said, smiling.

"I see," she said, then pausing as the music stopped, being replaced with a fast pace beat. She looked at him and shrugged. "I'm kinda tired anyway," she said, heading back to the table.

--

The next morning proved to be of no help in furthering Ginny's training. Both she and Draco were tired from the previous night's adventure, and had frequent breaks during their practice.

"This is definitely not helping," Draco said, lying on the mat, breathing slightly hard.

"Maybe we should skip today," Ginny suggested.

"Right, then we would both get fired."

"Not necessarily," Ginny said, feeling a plan coming on. She got up from the mat and reached for Draco's hand.

"Come on, follow me," she said feeling uncharacteristically like her self.

--

"Please Kinglsey? I'm still suffering from the attack of that man. Besides, I think this will help us build our relationship. As you said, our partners are supposed to be the air we breathe, the words we speak. You could even let everyone else have today off to spend some time bonding."

Ginny had entered Kingsley's office, leaving Draco just outside the door, and pleaded with Shaklebolt to let her have the day off.

Kinglsey sighed, "Okay, Ginny. But I want you back in here tomorrow working your ass off."

Ginny smiled, "Absolutely, thank you!"

Ginny left the office and dragged Draco to the apparating point like a little kid dragging

his parents to see the whales.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Wait! Where are we going?"

She smiled, "The zoo, of course."


	4. Chapter 4

The zoo entrance was made to look like a jungle, with lots of bamboo and large tree trunks forming the arc of the entry way. A group of little kids wearing matching T-shirts stood waiting for their turn to get into the zoo. Their chaperones looked a little frantic at having to put up with so many of them. Finally, Ginny came to the person in a small booth and handed her a large sum of muggle money. She looked rather proud of herself, but the cashier seemed to think Ginny was crazy.

"Er, thanks," she said, but Ginny and Draco had already left and went into the zoo.

"First, let's visit the flamingos, and then the lions," Ginny said to Draco excitedly once they'd arrived at the zoo. She pulled him by the arm into the bird exhibit.

"What are flamingos?" Draco asked.

"You know, the little pink birds? They're not native here. But, Polar Bears aren't native to the states, and they've got them in their zoos."

"You've been to America?"

"Only once. Dad wanted to go sight-seeing. We had to save up for a long time... but it was a lot of fun," she explained as they walked into the flamingo exhibit.

"Gross. It reeks in here," Draco said in his aristocratic way.

"Yes. That's bird poop," Ginny laughed.

There were numerous trees and bamboo plants encasing a narrow bridge across the water where the flamingos stood on their skinny legs. Across from the bridge, there were large rocks covered in green algae from which a waterfall fell. On the top of the rocks, an eagle was perched, looking quite asleep.

"Lets feed them," Ginny suggested, pulling out some more muggle change.

"Er, you can..." Draco responded looking a little afraid, as if the birds might eat him.

Ginny held out her hand to the closest flamingo, but it did not come near. Instead, she threw the bird pellets into the water and watched as the surrounding birds bent their necks down and began eating.

"Alright, lets get out of this smelly place," Ginny said stepping outside. She pointed to some large painted paw-prints and bid Draco follow them with her to see the lions. The lions were quite a bore, since all they did was laze about and clean themselves. One got up from its resting place and lazily walked a little farther away from the glass wall through which Draco and Ginny were watching it. Its shoulder blades protruded noticeably every time it took a step. Only a few feet from its original spot, it plopped down again, shook its head like a wet dog shakes its body, and let out a yawn. There was only one lioness in the exhibit, and Ginny commented about the sexism of it. Moving on, they went through the gorillas and the giraffes before coming upon the Crocodiles. Both Ginny and Draco stood against the fence at the exhibit looking into the water to spot the reptile they sought.

"I don't see any!" Ginny complained. She looked around for a food dispenser when she noticed a sign that said, 'DO NOT FEED THE CROCODILES!' She sullenly climbed onto a bench to get a better view over the fence.

"Be careful, Ginevra, you might fall in," Draco said in a worried tone.

"Oh be quiet," she said, smiling.

"But you could!"

"I'd be okay, though, because you would come in to rescue me, right, partner? You know, that whole trust thing?" she laughed.

Draco gave her a look that said, 'Yeah, right.'

"Oh come on! I need to know!"

"Okay, yes, I'd save you, but I wouldn't jump in, I'd just have to pull you out somehow. And only because Kingsley would have my ass if I let you get eaten," he said, nodding.

Ginny looked back to the water. "I see a little bump. Is that a croc? Oh look it's coming out of the water!" Ginny said excitedly. She waved her hand at the reptile, but it didn't seem to be interested in her, so she quit.

"Okay, now, let's go see the snakes, this croc is boring," she said, pulling Draco's arm in the direction of the snake exhibit.

Draco stopped her, and said, "How about you let me lead the way for a while. There's something that I've been itching to do." He pulled Ginny's arm in the opposite direction of the snakes.

--

"Oh, no. No. No, no, no, no. I'm not getting on that thing," Ginny said, beginning to turn away from the skyride. Draco quickly grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Oh yes, you are! Come on, it'll be fun. Please?" Draco begged.

"No!" Ginny said, folding her arms across her chest.

Draco sighed, "Fine, I'll go by myself," he said, hoping his reverse psychology would work on her.

He boarded the small cart that was waiting for someone to step in, and waved to her. She waited all of 2 seconds before shouting, "Wait!" She walked up to the cart and nervously stepped in.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," she said, closing her eyes. She let out a yelp as the cart began to move. Her knuckles turned white as she held tightly to the pole in the center of the cart.

"Oh no! I think something is wrong with our cart!" Draco said, shaking it back and forth with an evil grin.

Ginny screamed, and reached out. "You bastard!" she called.

He laughed, and reached out his hand pulling her toward him so she could sit next to him.

"You know, closing your eyes only makes it worse. Just open your eyes," he said.

"I-I can't, I-I have a _terrible_ fear of heights. I—"

"Ginevra, trust me. If you fall out of the cart I'm sure you won't land on any antlers," he said while laughing.

Ginny let out a distressed yelp. "Dear Merlin! You're right! Why did I get on this stupid ride?" she said becoming even more distraught.

"Look, I'm kidding," he said putting his hand on her shoulder. "If you fall, I will catch you. Now open your eyes."

Ginny shook her head.

"Fine," Draco said, "I'll have to use force." He pushed her eye lids up with his thumb.

"Look at me! I'm serious!"

Something about the way he said it let Ginny know that he was serious. She slowly opened her eyes and looked into his. He dropped his hands to her shoulders.

"If you fall, I will catch you," he said slowly.

Ginny sat stunned for a moment at his sincerity.

"This is part of our partnership. I need you to trust that I'll be there for you if something goes wrong," he said softly.

Ginny nodded, still looking him in the eyes.

"And I need to be able to trust that you will do the same for me. Look, you'll have loads of partners in the future, and no matter who it may be, there's gotta be trust. Kinglsey wasn't exaggerating when he said those things on the first day." He sat back in the chair and looked over the edge, keeping silent for a while in order for his words to sink in. He heard her sigh, and knew she was feeling awkward.

"Look over there! That elephant is taking a bath!" he said, pointing a finger excitedly, hoping to distract her thoughts.

Ginny nervously leaned over the side, and as she did so, she felt Draco's hands on her waist, reassuring her that what he'd said was true. She smiled at the sight of the elephant, which to them was small in size, snort water into its trunk and then blow it back out over its back. She turned around and grinned.

"That is so cool."

He smiled, "I know."

--

After getting off the skyride, they decided they were both hungry. Scattered throughout the zoo were restaurants and they decided to eat at 'The Peacock." Both searched the menu, looking for perhaps treacle tart, chocolate frogs, something remotely familiar, but soon found that that was not an option.

"What are Nachos?" Draco asked.

"I don't know. Let's try them. Have you ever had a corn dog?" Ginny asked excitedly

"_What_?"

"My dad says they're excellent. That's what I'm going to have."

"What should I get? I've never had any of this stuff before. Don't they serve escargot?" Draco asked helplessly.

"Disgusting! How can you eat that stuff? Didn't your parents ever feed you anything thing other than fancy French entrees? Just order a corn dog like me, and if you don't like it you can get something else," Ginny suggested.

Once they got their food, they sat at a rather dirty table and began tasting their entrées. Ginny was first, and as she tasted it, she let out a throaty moan.

"This is so good! Not as good as the kind of stuff my mother makes but, wow. I mean, it's quite greasy, but..." she trailed off.

Draco tried his and nodded his head. "I can feel myself getting fat. I seem to remember this as one of the favorites among Americans, no wonder they've all got health problems," he said, "but I can see why. It's pretty good."

At the word 'fat,' Ginny paused, slightly, remembering that she probably shouldn't be eating these kinds of foods. But brushed it off, knowing that she wasn't like that anymore, and could handle her intake. Being that her appetite was so vast, she was done with her corn dog in a matter of minutes and she had moved on to trying a nacho with cheese. Her eyes widened as she tasted it.

"Try it!" she said emphatically to Draco, handing him one.

He had the same reaction. They both finished off the nachos merrily, Ginny letting Draco have the last one.

The rest of their day was spent visiting the other animals, like the gazelles and rhinos. After having finally exhausted all the land of the zoo, they walked to a safe place where they could Apparate.

"Thank you for taking me here, Ginevra. I appreciate it. I definitely missed out as a child," he said, smiling at her.

She smiled back, "It was fun. We'll have to do something like this again," she said turning to Apparate.

He nodded, "Goodnight," he said, stalling her from leaving. "I'll see you tomorrow. We have a lot of work to do since we skipped today."

"I'll be sure to practice," she said and smiled, turning once more to apparate.

"You probably should just go straight to bed after you eat dinner," he said hurriedly, and watched her stop abruptly. "So you won't be too tired tomorrow," he suggested.

She nodded. "Goodnight," she said, and apparated away, leaving Draco standing all alone.

"Goodnight," he said to no one.


	5. Chapter 5

Then next day came to find Ginny and Draco in a new, smaller enclosed room for training.

"Why are we in here instead of out with everyone else?" Ginny asked.

"Actually, everyone else is in their own practice room as well. Kingsley wants us all to have fewer distractions," Draco explained. "Plus, we're going to start working on something new as of today. We're taking a break from muggle defense."

"What do you mean by something new?" Ginny asked as she helped Draco unfold their mat that was to lie on the floor.

"Occlumency, Legilimency, Wandless magic and dueling," he stated. Ginny's eyes lit up. "Hermione always told me about how Harry was learning Occlumency in school!"

Draco paused, "Really?" Ginny nodded.

"Oh... Okay, lie down on the mat. We're not actually doing any Occlumency today. In fact, this particular session will be the most relaxing one you'll ever have. We're working on clearing our minds."

"Don't we need a specialist in this area to help us?" Ginny inquired, getting comfortable.

"My father taught me the basics, and that's all we're learning right now."

"Oh."

"Close your eyes, and take 5 deep breaths," he said, watching her. "Now, walk through your thoughts. Let them come to you, but dismiss them quickly."

Ginny obeyed. One thought came after the other, like baseballs in a batting cage. She thought of the elephant at the zoo yesterday, spraying off the brown dirt from his body. She envisioned baby Thomas in her arms, his big brown eyes looking up at her. She saw Draco's serious eyes looking at her the day before. She released each one and let it flow from her mind.

"Now, find a picture; something neutral, like a lake or a tree. Stare at it. Don't let anything else interfere," Draco said smoothly. He watched Ginny's face contort, concentrating on her image, and laughed.

"What, you ruddy jerk!" she screamed.

"Nothing, really. Just your face."

She let out an outraged cry and punched his arm.

"OW!" He cried, rubbing his arm. "Bloody hell, Ginevra! I should not have taught you to punch."

"Oh, stop whining. I didn't punch that hard," she said, lying back down and closing her eyes. "Let's get back to this," she said, hoping to feel more relaxed.

"No, let's try out wandless magic now, we're just skating over things right now," he said.

"I'm definitely not good at that," she replied, sitting up.

"You can't be sure until you try it. Now, hands out, palms up..."

--

"Why don't you sit with us today, instead of coming up unexpected?" Ginny offered Draco. He laughed in return and nodded. Ginny found the table where Ron and Hermione were sitting, and she and Draco took a seat.

"I invited Draco today so that he doesn't just barge in while we're talking," she said. Ron laughed.

"How'd you like Occlumency and wandless magic?" he asked.

"It was cool. I didn't actually get anything done, but I didn't have to work very hard. We didn't get very far in Occlumency, because Draco decided to laugh at my very serious face," Ginny replied.

Ron and Hermione laughed and shared an inconspicuous look. "Sounds like you had quite a bit of fun," Hermione half stated. Both Draco and Ginny nodded.

Hermione smiled. "So," she spoke slowly. "My birthday party is tomorrow, here at the ministry. I'd love if you came, Draco. More presents," she said and laughed jokingly.

He grinned, "Sure." Ginny gave a small smile that didn't go unnoticed by Ron or Hermione. The two shared another look. This time, Ginny noticed.

"What are you two all smile-y about?"

Ron laughed. "Nothing."

The rest of their lunch break was spent idly chatting about what Hermione wanted for her birthday, and Quidditch arguments between Ron and Draco.

"Where are Harry and Mabel, by the way?" Ginny asked before it was time to get back to training.

"Mabel's been assigned a better position, and Harry is in a meeting with the minister. He wasn't very happy about it," Hermione explained, grinning.

"A better position? I didn't know they got promotions in the department of mysteries. They're all just Unspeakables, right?"

Hermione shrugged, and Ginny shook her head and walked away with Draco following.

--

"Let's do one duel and then we can go home," Draco suggested after they'd tried clearing their minds once again without any success.

"Okay," Ginny said, getting up. "But you're going down."

Draco let out a laugh. "Riight."

They took their positions, standing back to back and took 10 paces forward. They turned around at once and bowed, and finally, the hexes and curses flew.

Draco's yelled his first hex, "Incarcerous!" which was blocked when Ginny screamed "Protego!" and then threw her famous Bat-Bogey hex. Draco stood stunned for several seconds before firing another jinx at her. It went on for a good 5 minutes. Each time one of them shot a curse, the other would find a way to dodge it. Ginny wanted to win this duel, though. So she tried to remember the time when Professor Snape tried in vain to introduce her class to saying spells without speaking. She concentrated hard while still blocking Draco's hexes, and finally tried to send one towards him.

Draco was too busy trying to fire his next curse that he hadn't seen her wand move. He dropped his wand, and keeled over suddenly, laughing hysterically.

Ginny smiled to herself and shouted, "Yes!" She quickly ran to Draco and saw that he wasn't making any noise. He was one of those silent laughers, it seemed. He took in a big breath and began laughing once again.

Finally, Ginny lifted the jinx. "Finite Incantatem."

Draco fell silent for a moment, and then reached out a hand for Ginny to help him up. "My stomach hurts. How'd you learn to do that?" he asked curiously.

"Snape sort of tried to teach us in 5th year."

"Oh. That explains it, I guess. In Defense Against the Dark Arts?" he asked, and Ginny nodded her head. "Well, tomorrow we'll try some Occlumency, so practice clearing your head tonight."

"I will," Ginny replied, helping fold the mat that was lying on the floor.

"Okay," Draco said once they were done. "Er, see you tomorrow."

"Yeah," Ginny replied, turning to leave. She stopped at the door. "Oh, and Draco?"

He raised his eyebrow, "Yeah?"

"I told you you'd go down, didn't I?" She smiled at him and left.

--

Friday at work proved to be uneventful. Ginny couldn't get her mind off of Hermione's party that night. She was extremely excited for some reason that she couldn't pinpoint.

Her Occlumency training with Draco didn't go as planned, because she couldn't manage to clear her mind enough to try and stop him from raiding her mind. Fortunately, he didn't delve to deep, and only saw her most recent memories. She knew that if he'd seen anything else, it would give away her secret.

"You're not trying to push me out, Ginevra. Let me remind you that I'm being respectful of your memories, but if I was a Death Eater, I'd want to find your most painful memories and use them against you," he'd lectured. Ginny had only nodded, and suggested they just work on clearing their minds once again.

--

Ginny arrived at the ministry at 6 pm in a plain white dress with a black strap around the middle. She'd taken another trip to the muggle mall for this occasion, being that Hermione asked her to wear something a little dressy.

A large room, normally a conference room, in which the party was being held was extravagantly decorated. Streamers, a disco ball, and balloons were all hanging from the ceiling. The place was crowded with about a hundred people there, all coworkers and family of Hermione's. Ginny quickly spotted her group of friends and walked up to them.

"Hey guys!" she said, noting that Draco was not among the group of people she'd just addressed.

"Ginny!" Hermione smiled, getting up to give her best friend a hug.

"Happy birthday!" Ginny said, and Hermione gave her thanks.

"Want some butterbeer, Ginny?" asked Harry, having come up to greet her.

"Yes, thank you," she said and took a seat at one of the many tables in the room while Harry walked away to order the drinks. Mabel was soon by her side, saying hello.

"I love that dress! Did you get it in the mall?" Ginny nodded, thanking her for suggesting the mall to buy a dress. Harry came back to the table with a butterbeer for each of them and they began chatting merrily about their gifts for Hermione, with Harry rather crudely joking about what present Ron might give Hermione later. Ginny wasn't quite listening, though, as she was searching for Draco. She wondered if he really would come. Neville Longbottom approached and whisked her to the dance floor, remembering the time in third year at the Yule Ball when they'd danced. Ginny's doubts about whether Draco would really come or not were shattered when, after a while of dancing, she saw him appear behind Neville and tap on his shoulder. He was wearing all black and a red tie. Ginny felt her stomach flutter unexpectedly.

"Excuse me," he said. "Mind if I take over?"

"Oh, hi, Draco, sure." Draco took Ginny's hand and placed his hand on her waste

"Hey partner!" Ginny said, grinning. "Everyone is just hanging out. I'm already having so much fun. Neville's a great dancer. I can't wait for Hermione to open presents!"

"I hope she likes the gift I brought for her," Draco said, looking slightly nervous.

"I'm sure she will. And if she doesn't she won't show it," Ginny said and laughed. The song playing was replaced with something faster, and Ginny began walking back toward the tables, dragging Draco along with her. Harry raised his eyebrow to Ginny at the clasped hands, but she just shrugged him off and sat back down in her seat.

"Hullo, Potter," Draco said, waving to him. Harry nodded in response.

"Hi, Draco," said Hermione, who'd just arrived with Ron at their table from dancing.

"I'm glad you came!"

Draco smiled, "Thanks for inviting me."

The DJ - Luna Lovegood began taking requests for songs. As a sappy love song started playing, more couples than before began taking their places in the area that wasn't occupied by tables. Hermione and Ron were among the first to be out there, being that 'their' song was playing. Mabel and Harry joined next. Even Neville had found a new partner.

"So, what exactly did you get her?" Ginny asked, turning her attention away from the dancing couples.

"A book. On parenting," he replied bluntly.

"Aw, she'll love it. You know, that's one genre of books I know she doesn't have."

"Why not? You'd think she spent the whole nine months she had while she was pregnant to read them."

"She's been too busy to even try looking for them, even during pregnancy, she was always doing something, reading other more important books or filling out paperwork. She never really got a break from work." Ginny responded. He nodded his understanding.

"What did you get her?" he inquired.

Ginny smiled, "Are you sure you want to know?"

Draco nodded, a little uncertainly.

"I got her a bra. She was eyeing it when we last went to the mall with Mabel. It was 30 pounds worth of muggle money."

"Oh," Draco said, blushing slightly.

It was quiet between the two of them for a moment. Ginny looked around the room aimlessly, smiling when she spotted her friends dancing.

"Er..." Draco stuttered quietly. Ginny snapped out of her bored state at this.

"Would you like to dance? Again?" Draco asked.

"Sure!"

Draco took her hand and led her to the dance floor.

"Erm... I wanted to... thank you again for taking me to the zoo. I had the most excellent time," Draco said and smiled.

Ginny smiled back. "I had fun, too. I knew you would. My parents used to take us every once in a while, especially when I was small. And of course, that time in America. I didn't stop talking about it for days."

Draco laughed. "Well, I wondered if... if there was anything I could do to thank you for it. Perhaps take you to dinner?"

Ginny's stomach fluttered, realizing what was happening. However, she didn't want to make it so easy on him. "Sure," she said, "but I'm sure you can think of something better than dinner, right? Take me somewhere fun. That way we both get something out of it," she reasoned, thinking that would keep him on his toes.

"You're absolutely right," he laughed.

"I want to open my gifts!" Hermione said over the loudspeaker, startling most people who were dancing. Everyone gathered around, watching as she opened brightly colored bags and unwrapped boxes with shiny paper on them. After she opened Ginny's present, Ron looked at Ginny with his eyebrows raised. "Nice one," he said. Draco's gift elicited a squeal from Hermione, and quite a large hug. "I can't believe I haven't read one of these books yet!"

Eating of the cake, and more dancing ensued and one by one, people retired to their homes feeling quite exhausted. Ginny, too was tired and had aching feet by the end of the night and was gathering her things getting ready to get home and slip into her bed when Draco appeared at her side.

"Is tomorrow at 6 alright?" he asked.

"What?" she asked, her brows furrowed.

"You said I could take you somewhere," he said hurriedly, already losing his nerve.

"Oh... Yes... I almost forgot. That's perfect. I'll see you then," she said and gave toothy grin.

"Goodnight Ginevra," he said, and kissed her hand.

"Goodnight," she said, blushing. She quickly ran for the exit with Draco watching her back as she did. After Apparating home, she opened the door and quietly went inside, knowing that her parents had already come home from the party a few hours earlier. She went upstairs, opened her bedroom door, changed into her night clothes and fell back onto her bed with a happy smile on her lips.


	6. Chapter 6

It was nearing 5:30 the very next day, and Draco still had no idea where 'somewhere fun' was. How was he supposed to know what fun was? He was making a list of places in his head, most of which were the most expensive restaurants in the muggle world. But she had shot down his invitation to just dinner. Somewhere fun? At 5:40, he gave up the hopeless fight, and fire called his last resort.

He walked to the elegant marble fireplace of Malfoy Manor, and dropped in a handful of green floo powder into the ashes that were already there. "Ron Weasley!" There was a swoosh of fire before he stuck his head in and found himself looking into Ron's living room. No one was there. "RON!" He called out rather anxiously.

He saw Ron come out of the kitchen wiping his hands on his pants and kneel in front of the fireplace. Hermione poked her head out of the kitchen quickly and then disappeared.

"This is a surprise," the red head said, smirking.

"I need your help," Draco said a little panicked.

"Again, a surprise."

"Listen, I have no idea where to take Ginevra. She said 'somewhere fun,' but I don't know what— I mean, you said you're close with her, I figured —"

"Can I ask you something?" Ron cut in, his brows raised in inquiry. Draco sputtered a moment at being interrupted.

"_What_?" he asked, irritated.

"Is this a date?"

Draco was silent for a moment, his mouth hanging open. "Well, I-I suppose not. I mean I—"

"So it's a date then," Ron said smiling. "Alright, take her somewhere she's never been, she's a girl that loves adventure," he said as if it were the easiest thing in the world.

"How am I supposed to know where she has and hasn't been? She's _your_ friend isn't she? You tell me," Draco said, feeling more agitated by the minute.

"Alright, I will. Let's see," Ron pondered a moment, his finger tapping his chin. "She's never been to the..."

--

Once he'd finished with Ron, Draco scribbled a note to Ginny, telling her to meet him outside of the ministry. He tied the note to his owls leg and let her out the window.

He took in several deep breaths, preparing. "Why are you nervous?" he asked himself as he looked in the mirror. "You look as gorgeous as you ever did." He laughed at himself and shook his head to rid himself of nerves. After a minute or two, he Apparated to the ministry, no longer able to wait.

Draco appeared behind the building next to the ministry and walked toward the red phone booth. When he saw her, the anxiety he felt before coming was replaced with a new and different kind of anxiety. Ginny stood there, in the opposite direction, searching for him.

"Ginevra," he said, softly looking her over. She wore simple clothes and simple makeup, but at the same time, nothing about her said simple. At hearing Draco say her name, she turned around and smiled.

"Hi."

"Hey," Draco said finally reaching her side.

"So, where are you taking me?"

"Oh you'll see."

--

"I hope you're hungry," Draco said, as they stepped out of the muggle vehicle that Ron had taken the time to prepare for them.

"What is this place?" Ginny asked.

"It's called the Outback. It's supposed to be excellent. It's very much in imitation of Australia."

"I wonder if they have those Nacho things we tried," Ginny said with some excitement.

Draco only laughed and gently ushered her in, knowing that they didn't. On the very rare occasion that the Malfoys used to venture into muggle territory, this was the place that they went, because Lucius had thought they had the best tasting meat.

"Hey, mate! Ya have reservations?" The host had an obviously fake accent, but Draco silently commended him for trying.

"Er, no."

"Oolright! Just follow me and I'll seat ya!" He grabbed two menus and led them to a small booth in a corner. "Have a gright meal!" he said placing the menus in front of them. Once the man walked away, Ginny let out a suppressed giggle. "Wow," she said. Draco nodded, smiling, and opened his menu. Ginny followed suit.

"What is that thing?" she asked, pointing to a menu. "It looks like one of those sea things."

"That would be a Bloomin' Onion, sweetie. If you'd like I can start you off with one," said the waiter, who'd just walked up.

"Oh, er..."

"Yes, please, we'll have one," Draco said.

"Alright! What can I get you to drink," said the waiter, looking at Draco with a smile, standing with all his weight on one leg, hip popped out.

"Er, I suppose tea."

"Good choice," he responded, and turned to Ginny. "And you honey?"

"Do you happen to have Pumpkin Juice?" she asked with a curious look on her face. Draco giggled.

The waiter laughed, "Aren't you a cute one. I've never heard of such a thing! I can get you some root beer, though."

Ginny's face screwed up. "Is that like butter beer?"

The waiter smiled, "What ever you say, sugar."

"Okay, I'll have root beer," she said nodding her head as if to reassure herself.

"Great. I'll be back with your drinks in a minute. If you need anything, my name is Nathan," he said, and gave a wink before walking away.

"He's awful friendly," Draco said in a low tone, leaning forward.

Ginny smiled, nervously flattening the table cloth, "He's nice."

"He's hitting on you," Draco said matter-of-factly.

Ginny laughed and leaned forward too with an incredulous look on her face. "Oh, please, Draco, you can't possibly tell me you don't know that he's gay!" Draco paused a moment and didn't respond.

"Wow. How can you not tell?" Ginny teased.

"He was hitting on you!" he insisted.

"Draco, gay men – flamboyantly gay men especially, tend to use terms of endearment. Besides, he totally winked at you before he left."

"What?" he said, almost a little too loudly.

"Alright, here are your drinks. Root beer for you, and tea for you," said the waiter, who was trying his hardest to look directly into Draco's eyes. Draco however, seemed not to notice and kept his eyes on the menu.

"What can I get for you to eat?" the waiter asked with his hand on his hip.

"Erm, I'll have the filet mignon," Draco said.

"Oh, like your meat tender, eh? How do you want it cooked?" The waitress said, and Ginny gave a snort of laughter.

"Medium."

"Mmm," the waiter turned to Ginny. "How 'bout you dahling?" At the endearment, she saw Draco give her a look that said, "SEE?"

"I think I'll have the same," she said, holding in laughter at the way Draco was behaving.

"Great, I'll be back as soon as I can," he said and walked away.

"I don't see how you can't tell he's hitting on you," Draco said.

"Well, Draco, even if he was, I wouldn't mind. He's cute, anyway," she said, taking a sip of her root beer. The feel of it made he cough a little.

"Oh."

"Are you jealous?" Ginny asked with a smirk. Draco's heart sped up a little, thinking Ginny was asking about the nature of his infatuations

"Don't worry, I'm not trying to move in on your man," she joked, and winked. Draco let out a big breath. Dinner carried on, Ginny laughing at their waiter Nathan's attempt at getting Draco's number, which was a rather failed attempt, seeing as how Draco had only responded with, "What's a phone number?"

"That was hysterical!" Ginny laughed after dinner, climbing into their vehicle.

"It was terrible. Do I look gay to you? Not to mention you were sitting right there, I figured that would have at least said something. He obviously didn't get the hint that you were my date!"

Ginny stopped laughing, "Is this a date?" Draco was silent.

"Because that'd be really nice."

Draco turned to her and smiled, "Then it's a date."

"Where are we off to now?" Ginny asked, excitement in her stomach at this new prospective.

"The Cinema."

"Really? I've never been there. What are we going to see?" Ginny said like a little kid.

"Er, well, that's the thing. I've never been to one of these things either. So I'll let you pick and hopefully it will be good."

--

"Sweet Merlin!" Ginny said jumping out of her chair at a scary scene in the movie she had picked. She silently wondered why in the world muggles would ever want to watch something like that.

"This has got to be the best thing ever," Draco grinned, loving not only the film, but the way she kept clutching his shirt for dear life.

"It's incredibly horrible!" Ginny squeezed her eyes shut.

Draco smiled, feeling slightly courageous. He reached his hand toward hers and entwined their fingers together. She opened her eyes and looked at him.

"It's just a movie," he whispered, and smiled.

She smiled back and sunk lower in her seat.

--

The movie, to Ginny's pleasure was finally over, and Draco invited Ginny to walk with him in the small town where the theater was. Hands in his pockets, he babbled on about nothing in particular, while crossed her arms against the cool night air. Close to two blocks from the theater, Draco stopped and grabbed Ginny's hand, pulling her into a piano store. Ginny looked around, wondering why they'd come in. Draco looked toward the shop employee and inquired if he could play the piano. When the man nodded yes, Draco sat down and closed his eyes, touching the keys gracefully.

The sweetest chords made their way to Ginny's ears, and she found herself enchanted. She watched as Draco swayed slightly, feeling the music he was making. It was not a piece Ginny had heard on the CD from her friend. It was not, at first what seemed like a sad piece, until in the middle, the most beautiful chords screamed heartache. When finally the piece was through, Ginny had a most sincere look in her eyes.

"Clair de Lune," he said. "My favorite piece."

Ginny nodded, "Mine, too. At least now that I've heard it."

"Come on, lets get back," he said, leading her out and back to the muggle car.

"Erm, well, I had a lot of fun. Thank you," Ginny smiled once the two of them were back outside the ministry.

"Yeah, I've found a new love! Film," Draco said, laughing.

"Well, I – I guess I should go," She said, fidgeting with her hands.

"Me too," he replied nodding.

Both were silent. Ginny looked around.

"I—" Ginny was cut off when Draco put his hands on her face and his lips against hers.

Draco's heart quickened when Ginny responded to him. He pressed her body into the building, feeling braver than ever. He tried to deepen their kiss, feeling as if this could go on for hours, when Ginny broke away and shouted, "Wait!"


	7. Chapter 7

"What?" Draco asked, shocked.

"I— have to go," Ginny said walking away.

"What, why?!"

It was too late, however, because she'd already apparated away.

--

The weekend was long and full of worry for both Draco and Ginny. There was no way for Draco to contact her, as he didn't know where she lived, which only served to leave him restless. He wondered away the hours, trying think of what he'd done wrong, and why she'd left so quickly. Ginny wondered if she had made the right decision. She knew it would be awkward in training on Monday.

And, of course, she was right. There was an atmosphere thick with tension in their small practice room. Neither said a word about their date, afraid of what might happen. Instead, both took on a professional, straight-forward demeanor and rarely spoke unless there were orders being given.

"Kingsley wants the Occlumency to be practiced more, so we need to concentrate really hard today. Lie on your back and put your head in my lap," Draco said calmly.

Ginny looked him in the eye for a second at his comment, but quickly looked away, afraid to see the pain that might be there. She lay on her back, but hesitated before putting her head in its correct place.

Draco's hands, which were soft, warm, and delicate, were immediately on her temples, massaging her lightly. She felt her eyes close, becoming extremely relaxed. Every now and then, he would move his thumbs to the bridge of her nose and press up and sideways over her forehead. She'd never been more relaxed. Soon, the tension in the room from their unspoken agreement not to talk about the date melted away.

"Slow your breathing."

Ginny obeyed until her breathing was even, as if she were sleeping.

"I'm going in now," he whispered in her ear.

He delved into the front of her mind, not wanting to go too deep. The first thing he saw was their kiss, then him alone, stretching at their first training session. These images, thought they pleased him to think she was thinking of him, made him realize that

she was too relaxed, not blocking her mind.

"Guard your mind," he said to her while still inside.

Ginny didn't hear him, though. He continued to see visions of the two of them together at Hermione's party, in the zoo on the sky ride. It did of course boost his ego again and again, but he needed her to guard her mind properly. He pulled himself from the recesses of her mind and looked at her. She almost looked asleep, but he knew she wasn't.

"Ginevra."

"Hmm?"

"You have to try and push me out of your mind. This will never work if you don't try."

Her eyes opened and she sat up. Turning to look at him, she said rather helplessly, "I don't know how."

"Why don't we try reversing the roles, so you can see what it feels like to be pushed out of my mind? Maybe that will give you a sense of how to do it."

Ginny nodded and moved to Draco's spot, folding her legs Indian style. Draco placed his head in her lap, and she mimicked his earlier technique, massaging his temples.

Draco didn't let himself become too relaxed, and guided Ginny through the process of seeing into his mind. Once she was inside, he let her see certain memories, ones that were almost identical to the ones he'd seen in her mind. He started pushing against her presence, which wasn't very strong because she hadn't really tried this before. Within a few seconds, she was back out, and he'd turned around to look at her.

"Did you feel it?"

She paused. Oh yes, she'd felt it. Seeing those images over and over again brought back the nervous feeling in her stomach. She knew he wasn't referring to that, however, so she nodded quickly. "Can we try it a couple more times, so I can figure it out?"

He smiled, guessing that her secret motive was to see how those memories looked from his point of view. He nodded and they went through the process a few more times. When Ginny felt she had the idea, they switched places once again.

He began massaging her temples again, but quickly reminded her not to become too relaxed. He pressed into her mind and this time, a little further. He began to see images he hadn't seen last time. These took on a dark and mysterious quality, foggy even.

_Hooded and masked figures prowled around one man. The man looked as if he'd suffered a severe beating, judging by the dark purple and red spots all over his arms and legs. His clothes were torn, showing more bruised skin, and his face was bloody from cuts made by a hex._

_"It's finally time to die, Weasley. Aren't you glad we're putting an end to your pain?" one asked._

_The man in the middle of their circle didn't whimper like a coward, but instead looked up, straight ahead into the eyes of one of them._

_"Do everyone a favor and just fucking die. All of you, you sick bastards," he said, clenching his jaw._

_"We could say the same for you. Time to go."_

_The Death Eater who'd spoken raised his wand and—_

"NO!"

Draco was thrown out of Ginny's mind with tremendous force. He looked at her and asked, "What was that?"

Ginny's face was white and she said nothing. Instead she hurriedly got up and ran to the bathroom, feeling sick.

--

She'd been in one of the bathrooms for quite some time when Draco mustered up the

courage to go into the forbidden women's bathroom. He looked in several stalls before he found her sitting on the floor next to a toilet in the last compartment, her eyes puffy with tears, and her face splotchy.

"You okay?" he asked softly, bending down next to her.

"I want to go home," she said in a way that made Draco's heart break. She didn't look up from her gaze into the toilet.

He nodded. "Come on, I'll take you," he said, reaching for her arms.

She allowed him to help her up, but once she was standing, she firmly said, "No."

"You can't apparate in this condition, Ginevra. You'll splinch yourself."

"I couldn't possibly care less." She walked out of the bathroom, more tears making their way to the outside world and Draco quickly followed her. She'd started to almost run, but opted for very fast walking.

"Ginevra, wait!"

She didn't stop walking, and Draco had to run to catch her. She was outside of the Ministry when he'd wrapped his arms around her. He felt a tug, and realized she was apparating. And he was, too. They landed in a large patch of grass, with Draco's arms still around her. When she realized he was there, she began pounding against his chest.

"NO! WHY DID YOU DO THAT? YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE!"

Draco held her steadily, not letting go, even though her punches were most likely going to leave bruises on his pale skin. Though he didn't understand what he'd seen, he whispered into her ear, "Let it go. It's okay, just let it go."

He knew this wasn't about him being here. She was angry for him seeing the vision, but mostly because she'd seen it, too. He wondered if maybe she'd dated the Weasley in the vision. Why else would she be so affected? And perhaps that was the reason she'd broken away so suddenly from their kiss.

"Calm down. Let it go," he whispered, while looking around, trying to take in his surroundings. He saw an old house about 30 feet away, which looked like it might fall apart soon. There was a beautiful garden in front of it, and an apple orchard off to the side of the house.

He felt Ginny calm down gradually, eventually sagging all of her body weight on him. He listened to her cry, while trying to soak up some of her sadness.

"Ginevra," he whispered.

He heard her sigh, though she still sobbed quietly.

"Is this your house?" he asked. She nodded.

"Why don't we go inside?" he prodded.

He felt her grasp his body tighter as he began to get up. He saw her shook her head.

"We're sitting on the ground, Ginevra," he said, almost laughing.

"I like it," she said in a tiny, gasping voice.

He sighed and held her tighter, knowing she needed it. They were silent for several moments, just listening to the silence, the sound of Ginny's subsiding sniffles and hiccups, and enjoying the comfort of the other's body.

"Draco?"

Her voice surprised him, and he jumped a little. He looked at her. "What?"

"I... I want... I want to tell you something."

He nodded.

"What you saw... it was a dream. I don't really know if that ever happened." At this point, Ginny had extracted herself from Draco's grasp and had wrapped her arms around her own body, which made her look extremely fragile. Draco stayed quiet, waiting for the rest.

"It was Charlie Weasley," she said, her eyes beginning to swell with tears. "I— Draco... You're going to hate me," she said, stalling for time.

"Ginevra, just tell me."

"It was Charlie Weasley," she said again.

"You said that alread—"

"My brother," she interrupted, and looked into his eyes, her lip quivering at her submission.

Draco let the information sink in. His eyes got wide, his mouth opened. He felt something inside him break, his stomach turning upside down.

"You lied," he said.

"Draco, I didn't—"

"You lied!" he shouted, standing up, turning his back to her. "We're supposed to be able to trust each other, and you lied to me!" Draco shook his head, his face already turning red.

"I knew you wouldn't want to be my partner if I was a Weasley! You would have just taunted me like you used to!" she sobbed.

Draco spun around, his eyes wide with anger, "DO YOU THINK I CARE IF YOU'RE A WEASLEY!? WE ARE NOT IN SCHOOL ANYMORE GINEVRA! Wait! Let me guess, it's GINNY."

She didn't say anything, but instead cowered down in fear that he may hit her because of how mad he was.

He took a breath and said through gritted teeth, "Don't you think that if I had a problem with it I wouldn't have sat at the table with you and Ron and everyone else? That I could have been so friendly toward them? You didn't even give me a chance to see if I would care!" He shook his head. "I knew you weren't telling me something, but I thought it was something else, not something as petty and superficial as you being afraid that I'd reject you because of your name. I may have been a pig-headed arse in school but this is different. Maybe you're right. Maybe we shouldn't be partners. But GUESS WHAT! It ISN'T because of your name!"

He turned around, and was gone with a crack. Ginny was lying in the grass, her hair and the grass being blown astray by the wind, and rivers of water poured from her eyes.


	8. Chapter 8

Ginny stormed into the Ministry the next day, seriously not wanting to have anything to do with a certain Draco Malfoy. All of the night before, she berated herself and knew that it should be him that was mad at her. However, she couldn't help feeling a bit angry, and perhaps in denial of the fact that she should have told him the truth from the beginning. Just like everyone had told her over and over again. Knowing that Kingsley would never think of switching their partners now, she put on a brave face and walked courageously to the practice room where Draco was... not awaiting her?

Ginny checked her watch, seeing that she was still a few moments early. She sat on the floor to wait which only served to make her anxious. After a couple minutes, she checked her watch again. Still two minutes. She stood up and began laying down the mats that were necessary for them to lay on, and once they were situated, she laid down and closed her eyes, getting an early start on the mornings Occlumency.

She feared that this morning's lesson would be twice as hard as yesterdays, because she was still infuriated with Draco, which brought back memories not only of their horrendous fight but also the images she'd seen the day before in dealing with her brother. Why had she not tried harder to keep him out? Deciding to put yesterday out of her mind, she started taking slow, deep breaths, and let herself relax. In the back of her mind, she knew that Draco was late, but it didn't seem to matter. She let herself float off into her minds own wonderland.

_Ginny was back at camp, and everyone was enjoying a day of festivities. The camp counselors had set up a carnival in which there were people dressed as gypsies, belly dancers, Arabian kings. Booths were set up advertising balloon popping, jewelry, herbs, rock and other such things. Her friends Tally and Jade tirelessly drug her around to all the different booths, and made her try out the herbs that to them seemed weird. To Ginny, they were natural, everyday things_

_As a witch who'd been subject to Divination class, she was drawn to one booth in particular. A woman sat behind a crystal ball, looking very much like the late Professor Trelawney from Hogwarts, with round spectacles that made her look like a bug, and wearing sparkly shawls, even though it was a million degrees outside. She wondered vaguely if Professor Trelawney had a sister._

_"Hey, guys, let's check this one out!" her friend Tally, a tall blond with long dancer's legs said, taking the words from Ginny's mind._

_"Ginny, you go first."_

_Ginny sat down in front of the woman, who, up until that moment had been sitting up with her eyes closed as if she was receiving a very important message from some other world. She shook awake, like a child who's just been startled, and then put on her business face. "Two pounds, darling," she said in a misty voice._

_Ginny handed her the money, and patiently sat waiting for the woman to read into the crystal ball. She knew this woman was probably a fake, so she didn't hold her breath._

_"May I have your hands, darling?" Ginny slid her now less chubby hands toward the woman, and felt her hold onto them. The woman's reaction was instantaneous, as if she was receiving a premonition just by touching her hands. She stayed silent a few moments, and then opened her eyes, as if she was shocked._

_"Dear girl. Do you know a white haired man?" Ginny shook her head no._

_"Then you will meet one. And you will fight. A terrible fight that will have you on your knees. But... Do not fear. Show him who you are, and things will be okay. Good luck, and thank you."_

_The woman let go of Ginny and went instantly back to sleep, as if she was not interested in Ginny's friends._

Odd_, she thought._

Ginny's eyes peeled open as panicked thoughts raced across her mind. She had forgotten all about that woman, had passed her off as a phony. But now, it seemed that she had been true to Ginny. Had she known Ginny was a witch? And worst of all, could she have saved herself the despair she felt now if she'd only listened? And where was Draco? She checked her watch again and saw that he was thirty minutes late. She got up from her mats and stormed to her father's office. This was unacceptable.

--

Draco had lay in bed staring at his stark white ceiling. He'd decided not to show up for work today. He knew better. All that would happen, he imagined, was yelling and fighting, maybe a punch or two that he himself had taught to Ginevra. Or Ginny. He didn't know.

It was nearly ten when he decided to get up and make himself some breakfast. He began to prance down the staircase, happy to be taking the day off, even if he might get fired for not sending word into the Ministry. He'd already missed a day or two here and there, perhaps this was the last time he could do that before being let go. He realized also, that he probably shouldn't be too happy, since Ginny was most definitely still mad at him, he knew it. At the same time, he knew that it shouldn't be her that was mad. He had been the one lied to, the one who should be irate and non-forgiving. She didn't have a right to be mad at him.

Standing in his kitchen with only his silk pajama bottoms, he sighed and set to work on some eggs. He'd never let his house elf, Doyle cook for him, because he always ended up burning everything. The elf was great, of course, and he and Draco got on real well. Draco had hired him to work for him after S.P.E.W. was given full recognition by the ministry, and elves were no longer permitted to work as slaves.

Draco unexpectedly heard a sound on his kitchen window, and turned around to see a Ministry owl carrying what looked to be a howler. Great. I'm sacked now, I can feel it.

He opened the window and snatched the howler from the owls claws and carefully opened it. As soon as he did, he nearly fell backwards at the sound of Ginny's voice.

"DRACO MALFOY! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU? IN THE WORDS OF MY GREAT AUNT TESSIE, I DON'T GIVE A FLYING FALOOZY IF YOU ARE MAD AT ME. THAT DOESN'T EXCUSE YOU FROM WORK. I WILL **NOT** SACRIFICE MY TRAINING BECAUSE OF THIS. GET DOWN HERE... **NOW!**"

Draco laughed in spite of himself, thinking Ginny would be a great substitute for Kingsley's position as head of the Auror Department.

--

Reluctant though he was, Draco did eventually find himself at the Ministry dialing the number 62442 in the phone booth. He was very nervous about seeing Ginny. So much so, that he almost started to hyperventilate. He decided he would stop in at Kingsley's office first to explain why he hadn't shown up. Maybe he'd let him slide this time. Truly, he'd decided to go there first only to delay the time until he saw Ginny, needing to decide how to handle his - and her - anger.

He knocked once at Kingsley's door, but didn't receive an answer. He knocked a couple more times when he heard someone tell him that he wasn't there. Perking up at this, he thought maybe he wouldn't be sacked after all. Unfortunately he'd be heading to Ginny sooner than he'd thought.

He headed toward his and Ginny's practice room, albeit at a dreadfully slow pace. Upon arriving at the room, he braced himself, taking several deep breaths. Merlin knew what was lying behind that door. Probably a fearsome beast. He reached for the door handle, but never got to open it, as Ginny came flying out of the room.

"_WHEREHAVE_ YOU BEEN?" How had she known he was there?

"Er..."

"Nevermind! We have work to do. I need to learn Occlumency!" She grabbed him by the arm, and dragged him to the practice room.

_Okay_, he thought, _she's so obviously ignoring the fact that we just had a huge fight_. They were now surrounded by silence on all four sides of them, and neither spoke a word.

"Well?" Ginny prodded.

"Oh, er, right. Well, lie down then," he commanded, sitting on the floor Indian style.

"I've been practicing," Ginny told him as she laid her head down in his lap.

"Oh, good, show me what you've been doing." He gently played with her hair, wondering if this was her way of forgiving him. Ginny was speaking softly, but he couldn't hear her. He only felt the smooth softness of her red hair. His mind, too, drifted as Ginny's had done earlier and he was reminded of their trip to the zoo, where the foundation of there trust had begun.

His memory stretched on but it seemed Ginny's had not, for she was now asking him a question to which he didn't have an answer.

"What?"

"Are you going to try and get inside my mind or what?"

Yes. He was. What did she feel? He wanted to know. He gently prodded her mind, but began to work harder, as she was becoming better, and pushing on his own mind with much force. He wondered if she was doing it on purpose to make him go mad.

He tried unsuccessfully to get into her mind for an hour, and by that time, Ginny was exhausted. It was time for lunch, as well, so they both left, and Ginny went to see her friends.

--

"You don't think it actually was Trelawney, do you?" Ron asked.

"That's not important. What's important is that I think I'm going to go insane if I have to spend another minute in that stupid room with him. And I have to act like nothing has happened so that it wont interfere with my training."

"Ginny, acting like nothing happened will get in the way even more. You need to speak with him about it all. It's probably just a misunderstanding," Hermione reasoned.

"I can't do that! Are you cra-"

"Listen up!" cried the Minister. "All trainees are to leave the premises at the end of the lunch hour. All Aurors are to report to the conference room at that time for an emergency meeting."

Hermione's brow immediately furrowed, "Why weren't we told about this, Ron? And where is Harry? He'll miss the meeting!"

Ginny checked her watch, and saw that the time for her to be leaving was in about 2 minutes. _Guess I'll leave now_.

"I'm gonna go ahead and go. Fill me in later, alright?" They both nodded.

Ginny headed toward the exit, thankful to be getting rid of Draco sooner rather than later. She was nearly there when she saw the one person she didn't want to see.

"Ginevra, wait. I mean, Ginny. Er-"

"What?" She asked rather irritably.

"Er, nothing. Nevermind. Goodnight. See you tomorrow, then."

"Right," she said, and walked outside.

She apparated to the burrow, softly whispering "Home, sweet home."


	9. Chapter 9

Draco headed back to the lunch area, feeling as if he'd missed a very big opportunity. He found everyone cleaning up and heading in quickened paces to the elevators. He walked to where Hermione and Ron were talking quietly to each other as they headed to an elevator, but Ron saw him coming, and Draco felt an angry vibe from the red head. He turned in a different direction, thinking that news traveled, and quite fast. He opted for a different elevator with people he didn't really know and patiently waited until it reached the right floor. More than half of the elevator filed out in the same place as him, and were headed into the same oversized meeting room. He was thankful to be one of the people who had a seat.

"Settle down, please! This is urgent business regarding one of our own," said the minister in a rather skittish voice. His words sent everyone into frenzy. Draco saw Ron and Hermione glance at each other across the room with worried looks in their eyes.

"Quiet!" the minister demanded, looking around the room with a serious gaze. "Now, our own Harry Potter has been abducted. We need-" but the minister was cut off again by chatter between the Aurors in the room. Everyone was frantically giving their input to the situation.

"WE NEED TO DEVISE A PLAN!" He shouted in a deep and booming voice, making everyone in the room stop and turn silent.

"We need our top Aurors; those with more than three years of experience, as well as those who are close to Harry. The rest of you will be needed here for when we return. He has been taken by ex-Death Eaters. They left us a note here..."

The minister trailed on telling everyone his plan which was very complicated, and involved a fair amount of money. Draco thought, after hearing the plan that he had a better, easier idea that could get them out of the rut they were in, and could help them capture said Death Eaters, who were supposed to be in Azkaban. He raised his hand slowly, afraid that the minister would not care to listen to him.

"Er, sir. I have an idea," he said rather quietly

"What is it Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco hesitated, as he saw the harsh looks on Ron and Hermione's faces.

"Well..."

--

There was a knock at the door of that third floor apartment, and Avery crossed the room to open it, frustrated that they'd been interrupted in the middle of their torturing session. He opened the door very cautiously, and was surprised when a woman dressed in tattered robes, a muggle, no doubt, was standing on the other side of the door.

"Oh, finally," she said, her breathing heavy. "I-I was wondering. Could you help me? I haven't a place to stay and it's frightfully scary out here. Would you mind if I... just... stayed here for the night?"

Avery smiled a gross smile with obvious dirty thoughts in mind, and responded, "Of course, darling."

He opened the door wider for her, and she cautiously stepped in. Avery watched the girl as she took in the sight before her. A man held up by the arms from chains was an obviously scary sight for this muggle, and he could tell right away that she felt she'd made a mistake in knocking on that particular door. His grin widened.

"Look what we have here," Avery announced to the crowd.

--

Ginny had gone home to take a nap. Her obvious exertion during Occlumency had made her weak. Not more than an hour into her nap, she was rudely was rudely awoken and there was no time for her to comprehend what was going on. She was told just to trust and to follow. All she knew was that Harry was in danger, and that was enough to get her going. Now she almost wished she hadn't.

A dozen or more Death Eaters were staring at her, ready to pounce, she was sure. She felt like she needed to say something, so as not to give herself away. But what? What did you say to a bunch of Death Eaters who looked ready to kill?

"Err. Oh, I get it," she said, hoping her plan would work. "This is a drawing class, isn't it? And he's your subject. I could be one of your subjects, if you'd like, as payment for letting me stay here," she babbled, thinking she sounded more like a prostitute than anything.

Collectively, half or more of the men "oohed" at her attempt.

Avery laughed. "I've got a great idea. Why don't you, ehh, pretend to be seducing him. That should make a great picture. Potter, lucky you, time for a rest," he said, going along with her idea of an art class, even though none of them had drawing pads or pencils near by.

Ginny blinked at him, as if she hadn't quite heard him right, then muttered a quick, "Okay."

She walked slowly to where Harry was and placed her arms around him, not sure what to do. She glanced up, hoping for a look into his eyes, but his eyes were closed. She moved her hands up Harry's body, still unsure what to do. Why wasn't he opening his eyes? She pinched his nipple as hard as she could, and his eyes shot open in pain. More "oohs" came from the Death Eaters. Ginny kept her eyes locked on Harry's face, hoping he would recognize her. His eyes widened only slightly more as he recognized her, and then he shut them again.

Ginny remembered some dancers she saw at the same festival where she'd seen the Trelawny look-a-like. Tons of men had seemed entranced by the way they moved their bodies, so she tried to imitate them, swaying her hips, her hands raised in the air, twirling around. She ground her backside into Harry, hoping she was being believable. She began to enjoy herself a little too much as she got into her dancing, and remembered that she had a job to do. She slowly wrapped her arms around him and shoved her hands down the backside of his pants. She heard him gasp. _Harry, forgive me_.

What Harry didn't know yet was that encased in her hand was a key; a portkey to be exact. She pulled her hands out after having groped his bottom, and began to place kisses up his body, toward his neck, closer to his ear. When she reached her target, she looked out in the crowd for dramatic effect while she whispered into his ear.

"Just say Mabel, and you'll be with her," she said, and bit the lobe of his ear. She slowly made her way back down his body, and for good measure before quitting her little task, she slapped Harry across the face as a sign for him to speak the word. He whispered the name of his lover, and was gone. Ginny was alone in the room with more than a dozen angry and perverted Death Eaters. And the first thing she did was pull out her wand.

But she was too late.

"Expelliarmus!" had been called, and she was thrown back, her wand no where to be found. She got up quickly, however and assumed a fighting stance. Thank Merlin for Draco having taught her his best moves.

As a man came toward her, she heard the same door in which she entered through open to reveal the Ministry's best Aurors, as well as Hermione, Ron and Draco.

She fought off not one or two, but three Death Eaters without a wand within 2 minutes, all of whom got tied up in ropes by another Auror. By that time, she had found her wand and was shooting her best hexes and curses around the room, careful not to hit any Aurors. She was feeling spectacular, being able to, in some small way, avenge her brother. She saw Draco, Hermione, Kingsley and some other man she'd never met taking care of all the other fierce Death Eaters, making sure to throw some very special jinxes at them.

After nearly ten minutes, it seemed like all the Death Eaters had been taken care of, and there was an eerie calm. Ginny met eyes with Draco from across the room. But before any kind of unspoken apology could be reached, Ginny was being pushed outside onto the balcony by a left over Death Eater. How had they missed him? She began fighting back against him, breaking as many bones in his face as she could with her hand. She overcame him, and with great force pushed him over the balcony. She thought she was safe, but quickly found that she was falling over the balcony as the man grabbed her legs and pulled her.

Spectacularly, she managed to grasp the edge and scream for help. The bulky man was still hanging on to her legs, and she was quickly slipping. She flailed her legs to try to get the man off of her, but to no avail.

"GINNY!"

She felt two hands grab her arms and begin pulling. She looked up to see the blond hair of Draco, who was being held steady by Ron, who was then being held steady by Hermione, and other Aurors. "Grab onto my arms, Ginny!" Draco called.

Ginny could feel the man below her trying to crawl up her legs and she screamed. "DRACO! MERLIN, SAVE ME!" Her eyes were wide with terror and tears. She was sobbing hysterically as Draco and all those behind him worked to pull her up. It seemed nearly impossible, as the man was practically a giant.

"GET OFF OF HER YOU MOTHER FUCKER!" Draco screamed.

The man only laughed at that and tugged once again at Ginny's body, making Draco's grasp on her a little less than secure. She shrieked at this fact. "Don't drop me, don't drop me, please!"

"Ginny. I've got you. Trust me," he said staring deep into her eyes, which seemed to calm her slightly. "SOMEONE GET A BROOM OR SOMETHING! KNOCK HIM OFF!" Draco yelled becoming more pressed for time.

An Auror from the back of the line whom Draco didn't know hurried to the front with his wand, ready to send a curse at the man.

"NO! It's too dangerous, damn it! GET A FUCKING STICK OR SOMETHING!"

Another Auror was at his side in a moment with a crow bar. By now the man hanging on Ginny had his body half way up Ginny's, his face practically nestled in her butt.

The unknown Auror got down on his stomach and shoved the round edge of the bar down atop the man's head. A hard thud resounded through the air, and the man was instantly knocked out, his body turning into dead weight. For a moment, it seemed as if he wouldn't let go of Ginny, so she began to scream. But slowly, his body let go, and fell the rest of the way to the ground, and ultimately, to his death.

Ginny was instantly pulled up by the shear force of at least five people pulling on her with all their might. She landed directly on top of Draco and didn't move. Instead she clung to him and sobbed, thankful to be alive.

"Come on, we've got to get out of here. Everyone take at least one person with you," called out a random Auror.

Ginny seemed to remember her duty and quickly got off of Draco. Walking back inside, she grabbed a tied up Death Eater and quickly activated her portkey that would take her back to the ministry, without giving Draco even a nod.

--

Draco returned to the ministry to find Ron, Hermione, and Harry surrounding the only person he wanted to see at that moment. He made sure the Death Eater he was responsible for was put in the holding room, and headed back to where Ginny was, sitting atop a table. For a fleeting moment, he was mad at her, for completely ignoring him, and for blaming him for all that had happened.

Those in the immediate vicinity of Ginny saw him coming, and made excuses to go somewhere else. As she came into his line of vision, his anger subsided. He approached her with a blank face. They stared at each other for a moment, waiting for the other to say something, when Ginny jumped off the table and wrapped her arms around him. He was slightly taken aback, but managed to wrap his arms around her in return. Each let their hug say for them what they couldn't put into words. The stress of the night caused their embrace to be extremely tight and never ending. That is, until he pulled away and tried to speak, but was silenced when she put a finger to his mouth.

She looked at him, and he knew that she was thanking him, forgiving him, and apologizing to him all in one look. He tried to reciprocate her look, but must have failed miserably, as she began laughing, the serious moment gone.

"What?"

But she only shook her head, and kissed him on the cheek.

"Goodnight, Draco," she said, and walked away, her hips moving seductively as she walked.

He watched her go, his hand touching the place where she'd kissed him. Oh, what a temptress.


	10. Chapter 10

This is the final chapter. to **Olivia**: I tried to find your account, but was unsuccessful.

* * *

The next day, Wednesday, Ginny rolled out of bed, still extremely exhausted from the previous night's excursions. She made her way to the shower, and after shedding her clothes, climbed into the searing hot water. Last night had made her tense to say the least. She felt some tension subside as she glided her hands over her shoulders and arms, squeezing here and there. Having had no time to even prep for what she'd had to do the night before had been nerve wracking, especially putting her Occlumency into practice without ever having mastered it. Not to mention having to act the part and having to practically rape her own friend. _Gross._

She shivered.

Of course, there had also been that bit about her nearly falling to her untimely death. Yeah. That had been scary. It scared her to even think about it. And who had saved her? _Draco..._ as well as all those who were behind him, but what did they matter? She was forced to remember the way he spoke to her at the zoo, promising, "If you fall, I will catch you."

She sighed and turned off the shower, feeling somewhat more relaxed than before she'd entered. A new kind of tension entered her body as she realized she'd have to actually face Draco in less than two hours. Last night she had amazed herself, the way she just slid away without facing what she knew had to come. This time she couldn't be so cunning.

--

"Good morning," Draco said.

It was a simple greeting, and didn't imply anything. Except that it implied everything. It made her stop in her tracks. She looked at him. She nodded.

"Not that good of a morning if you ask me. I'm exhausted. I can't believe we have to work. It's completely unfair. Why can-"

"Ginny."

She looked up at him with a questioning face.

"We don't."

She raised one eyebrow in question.

"However, Kingsley said we must stay. Use the time to get to know each other, he said."

Ginny's mouth made an "O" shape.

Draco sat down against the wall in their practice room and copied her by raising a brow, obviously expecting her to do the same. She sat across from him and pulled her legs against her chest. The silence set in. Ginny looked everywhere but at Draco, still not wanting to confront the fact that she'd hurt him.

"You were amazing last night."

She raised a brow again and let out a laugh, feeling tension evaporate.

"The way you say that makes it sound as if I am a sex goddess or something."

He laughed, "Are you not?"

"I wouldn't know," she said. Draco smiled lightly, understanding her choice of words.

"Really though. Even though I didn't see it, I can just imagine you working your magic on those pervs. And when I saw you fighting those guys without your wand I was... blown away at your talent."

"That wasn't talent; it was just me remembering everything you've taught me in less than 3 weeks and actually putting it to use."

Draco only nodded.

"Thank you, though."

He looked up at her.

"I told you that you could trust me, didn't I?" he teased.

"Yes, you did. And while I wasn't referring to you saving me, thank you for that, too."

"What were you speaking of, then?"

"Considering me. Getting me into the action. I actually felt like I was doing something to avenge Charlie."

He nodded again.

"I'm glad, too, that I can trust you. I suppose I'm in debt to you now, for saving me," she said and smiled.

He laughed, "Technically, yes, you are. But that would also technically mean that you are indebted to Ron, Hermione, Tonks and whoever else was there."

Ginny shrugged looking away, "Quit trying to make it out like you didn't save me."

Draco chuckled, "I'm not. Merely pointing out the facts, darling."

Ginny sighed and said, "I think that was the worst moment of my life, really. I'm terrified of heights, you know."

"I seem to recall that fact," he said, and smirked, remembering their sky ride in the zoo. He stared at her as she blushed. She was scrambling for something to say, knowing that it was time to make things right.

"Draco, look... I... I'm sorry about... everything. I just didn't want anything to mess me up or get in my way to be able to get what I wanted, but you did anyway, and I just freaked

out and-"

"Ginny."

Merlin that was frustrating, the way he always interrupted her. She sighed, though, knowing it was for the best.

"I should be apologizing here. I sort of overreacted. A lot," he paused and rubbed the back of his neck while letting out a deep breath. "After I said all of those things, I regretted them. I've been... lied to, before. And no, it's not okay for you to lie to me. But, I understand your reasoning. I guess you wouldn't have had any reason to believe I wouldn't have teased you for your name. You haven't been around like everyone else."

Ginny nodded.

"To be honest, I'm more worried about... er, where this leaves... us. I mean-"

"Draco, right now, I don't think there's an us. I mean sure there's you and I, but really, I mean we've only known each other for three weeks. Less than three weeks. If there is to be an 'us' we should go slowly."

"Then must I court you?"

Ginny grinned. "I can't say that I would mind."

He smiled and got up to move closer to her. He lifted his hand to her face, seeming to take an up close look at her for the first time.

"Merlin, you're beautiful."

Ginny blushed and leaned her head forward on his shoulder. She let out a contented sigh and picked up the same hand he'd had on her face and laced her fingers with his. She wasn't sure what she had gotten herself into.

--

It was a week and a half later, and Ginny was wearing thin of Draco's attempts. She wasn't annoyed, certainly not. He was making her blush all the time and significantly raising her self-esteem. But she herself wasn't sure how much longer she could go without kissing Draco, among other things.

Tonight, Friday night, she had yet another date with Draco that was sure to be spectacular as they always were. The problem was she had no idea where exactly they were going. He'd only told her to dress in formal wear. It gave her a lot of creative freedom. She decided on a black silk dress that settled just above her knees. It was very open in the front, which made her slightly nervous, yet hopeful that Draco would make a bigger

move.

This was the first time she'd worn anything this revealing in front of him and it consequently left her in front of her mirror for nearly an hour. She turned from side to side to the front, to the back, checking to make sure her butt looked okay. After deciding she looked just fine, she made her way downstairs. "Oh, Ginny!" her mother gushed, " Let me get the camera. You look absolutely wonderful!" There was a knock at the door of the burrow before Mrs. Weasley could get away. Ginny stepped nervously toward the door and opened it to see Draco looking quite fetching in his jet black suit and tie.

He looked up at her, smiling and taking in the sexy style of her dress. "I don't even have to say it do I? Is it written all over my face how stunning you look?"

Ginny smiled back, blushing a little, "Thank you. You look great, too."

Draco stuck out an arm for her to grab and led her outside.

"Have a wonderful time, dears!" Mrs. Weasley yelled just before Draco apparated them both away for a night of fun.

--

Arriving at their unknown destination, Draco laced his fingers with Ginny's and lead her down the street and into a fancy little muggle restaurant called Pizza Italiano. One look from the host to Draco, and they were being led outside on a private balcony overlooking a lake that was lit up with different colored lights, and a fountain in the middle.

Draco pulled out Ginny's chair, helped push her in, and then seated himself. "This is beautiful," she said.

Draco raised a brow, "Hmm, should I go for 'not as much as you,' or 'I'm glad you like it?'"

Ginny laughed. "I think you should go for whatever comes natural. You really don't have to woo me, Draco."

"But if I didn't I wouldn't get to see the way you light up every time I pay you a compliment," he said and smiled while she blushed.

"What can I get the two lovebirds?" asked the waiter who'd just arrived, obviously in a good mood at seeing two people whom he assumed were in love.

After ordering, the two munched on the bread the waiter had left and enjoyed idle chit chat.

"_You_? Want 5 children?" Ginny asked in disbelief.

Draco nodded, "Being an only child is not as fun as you might imagine. Dreadfully

lonely."

"I suppose."

Over dinner, they continued with stories about their childhood; Ginny being filled with stories of times when her brothers played tricks on her for being the only girl, and Draco telling stories about how he dominated the playground in primary school.

When dinner was over, Ginny got up to stand at the edge of the balcony. It was not long before Draco wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"Having so many siblings, I never got peace and quiet. This is so nice," she said leaning into him.

"I'm glad you like it," he whispered, which made her shiver.

They were silent for a while until Draco turned her around. She could see there was something that he wanted to say just by looking in his eyes.

"Erm, this courting thing is all well and great, Ginny. I love it. But I don't think I can hold out much longer without at least ki-"

Kissing is what had interrupted his speech. Ginny had quickly jumped toward him while her arms found their way around his neck, and his around her waist, and they kissed forever. Or so it felt. But Draco was ever the wimp and had to come up for air.

"I know I said we should go slow, but... Merlin, I couldn't have been happier that you said that, because I was beginning to feel like a hypocrite for wanting to go faster," Ginny ranted.

Draco smiled. He loved the way she rambled on.

"I think everyone is entitled to a little bit of hypocrisy. If not, they'd never learn anything, don't you think?" he asked.

"Oh shut up," she warned.

"Make me," he said and grinned.

And once again, she did.

They parted their lips with a smack, and Draco whispered her name.

"Hmm?"

"I also don't know if... I can go so slowly as to... hold back on exactly what I've been thinking, either. But I don't want you to think me crazy."

She gave him a questioning look.

"I, erm, I'm... falling completely and madly in love with you," he said hurriedly, searching her eyes so as to reassure himself that he hadn't made a mistake.

She smiled, "Tell me this; Why in the world would I think you crazy for that? I mean, really I am quite the catch."

He hugged her and laughed into her neck. "Really, though, Ginny."

She nodded. "And just as you assured me that I could trust you with my life, you can trust me with your heart, if that is what you're offering."

"It is."


End file.
